Doctors will attempt to reanimate a patient’s paralyzed arm with a pioneering surgery that involves capturing signals from his brain and restoring movement through a fine network of electronics linked to arm muscles. The new effort, being planned by researchers at Case Western Reserve University, will use a brain computer interface, or BCI, developed by…
A new form of prosthetic interface has been developed raising the possibility that future amputees might not only have their mobility restored, but also their sense of touch. Although advances in prosthetic arms are creating increasingly dexterous limbs (and this is arms rather than legs – the latter are far simpler beasts, mechanically speaking) the…
CLEVELAND, Ohio– Plucking the stem off a fat, juicy cherry may seem like a simple task, but it’s practically Herculean for an artificial hand—that’s because the prosthetic limbs,while much more dexterous and sophisticated than ever before, still can’t feel the cherry. The end result is a lot of squished fruit. But researchers at Case Western…
Amputee Igor Spetic says the device can even produce the sensation of touching different textures, such as smooth metal, fluffy cotton balls, rough sandpaper, and soft hair. Over the past few years, artificial hands have come a long way in terms of dexterity. They can grasp, shake hands, point, and, usefully, make the “come hither” gesture.…
Two Case Western Reserve University scientists who are leaders in innovation and turning discoveries into improvements in health, new materials and more have been named Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Robert H. Miller, professor of neurosciences and the university’s vice president for research, and P. Hunter Peckham, the Donnell Institute Professor of…
A new nerve interface can simulate a sense of touch from 20 spots on a prosthetic hand. There have been remarkable mechanical advances in prosthetic limbs in recent years, including rewiring nerve fibers to control sophisticated mechanical arms and brain interfaces that allow for complicated thought control. But for all this progress, prosthetic limbs cannot…
Megan Moynahan, Executive Director, Institute for Functional Restoration, presents at TEDxBrussels “Engineering the Human Nervous System”. View the Presentation
Like anyone else, Cameron McIntyre likes to unwind after a long week in the office or, in his case, the lab. However, his idea of relaxing doesn’t involve the calm of a golf course or ballgame; rather, he prefers a seat behind the steering wheel of a race car, taking hairpin turns at breakneck speeds.…
Federal regulators have given Neuros Medical Inc. permission to test its technology on 130 patients suffering from chronic amputation pain. The Willoughby company has received an Investigational Device Exemption from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that will allow it to implant those patients with its Altius System, which is designed to block nerves that…
Five Cleveland biomedical research and health care institutions have received a $1 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), one of the National Institutes of Health, to collaborate on developing the Cleveland Stroke Clinical Trials Regional Coordinating Center. Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine will administer the five-year grant…