Exploring the use of interferential stimulation for somatotopic sensory feedback in prosthetic hands

大多数使用假手的人没有触觉。这限制了他们执行需要灵巧的任务的能力，并对他们的生活质量产生负面影响。提供感官反馈对于提高性能、增加体现感和降低设备放弃率是重要的。非侵入性神经电刺激是一种潜在的新方法，在假肢中提供感觉反馈，以模仿自然的触觉。该项目涉及具有康复工程专业知识的加拿大研究小组和具有神经刺激专业知识的英国小组之间的伙伴关系。它将探索一种很有前途的方法，称为干扰刺激（IFS）。IFS比其他形式的非侵入性神经刺激具有优势。例如，它可以在刺激过程中减少皮肤上的不适，并且刺激可以直接集中在目标神经上。该项目将研究IFS应用于人时产生的感觉的性质。它还将研究手臂的解剖结构如何影响IFS引起的感觉。这对于确定使用IFS恢复触觉的可行性非常重要。估计有86，000名加拿大人接受了上肢截肢手术。这项研究可能会导致先进假肢的发展，这可以改善使用上肢假肢的人的生活。

Most people who use prosthetic hands do so without a sense of touch. This limits their ability to perform tasks that require dexterity and negatively affects their quality of life. Providing sensory feedback is important to improve performance, increase a sense of embodiment, and reduce device abandonment rates. Non-invasive electrical nerve stimulation is a potential new way of providing sensory feedback in prostheses to mimic the natural sense of touch. This project involves a partnership between a Canadian research team with expertise in rehabilitation engineering and a British team with expertise in nerve stimulation. It will explore a promising method called Interferential Stimulation (IFS). IFS has advantages over other forms of non-invasive nerve stimulation. For example, it could cause less discomfort on the skin during stimulation, and the stimulation can be focused directly on the target nerve. This project will examine the nature of the sensations generated by IFS when applied to a person. It will also examine how the arm's anatomy influences the sensations evoked by IFS. This is important for determining the feasibility of using IFS in restoring the sense of touch. There are an estimated 86,000 Canadians who have had an upper limb amputation. This research could potentially lead to the development of advanced prosthetics, which can improve the lives of people who use upper limb prostheses.