Feeling is Believing: Bionic Hand 'Knows' What it's Touching, Grasps like a Human ( Johns Hopkings ) 

A combination of materials, metals, cables, and instruments can now feel the outside world. This was the creation of the Bionic Hand that knows what it’s touching and grasps like a human by Johns Hopkins University.

Well, I lied—it is immensely more complex than that to create this incredible hand. With the combination of bioinstrumentation, biomaterials, computational systems, etc., we are translating the outside world into the inside language—the language of our cells and nerves, our electricity, our communication.

Now, patients with the prosthetic hand do not need to worry if they are squishing your hand when giving a handshake; they can now feel the strength, even so that they can differentiate between a soft teddy and a plastic cup. Looks easy for us, but for people that do not have that sensation, it is a whole new world.

 

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A significant breakthrough achieved by JHU in the study of biomechanics demonstrates that amputees can now feel what they are gripping with their bionic hand. Johns Hopkins University has developed a novel prosthetic hand that can "feel" like a human hand does. It can grip metallic water bottles, plastic cups, and soft toys and still not grasp it too hard or too soft to mishandle the object.

The innovation brings a solution to the lasting issue of prosthetic hands being too rigid or too soft to replicate the human touch when handling objects. Their solution gives a prosperous solution that improves the life of people who have lost a hand.

The overall goal was to create something external to the body that could make the person feel and sense the different materials as their natural hand. The issue with most bionic hands is that they do not send signals back to the brain of the patient, therefore the person may be gripping something too hard and cause the object to break without noticing because they didn’t have that feedback loop.

 

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A noteworthy aspect of this research is its demonstration of how engineers could not only make the hand detect touch but also various shapes and surface textures. They used rubberlike polymers for the finger system, a 3D printed internal skeleton, air-filled finger joints, and a lot of electrical nerve stimulation.

To help amputees regain the ability to feel objects while grasping, prostheses will need three key components: sensors to detect the environment, a system to translate the data into nerve-like signals, and a way to stimulate the nerves so the person can feel the sensation, said Nitish Thakor.

What is most engaging for me is the last part: nerve stimulation to feel sensation. How can that be? It is probably not as simple as connecting a wire to a nerve. Well, it developed some time ago an e-dermis (sounds modern). This is a gluey layer with sensors that mimics the skin’s touch and pain. It uses a neuromorphic system to mimic the nervous system's way of processing information. So it translates the external information and data into the nerve’s system language.

The e-dermis was developed by engineers in the departments of Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Neurology, with collaboration from the Singapore Institute of Neurotechnology.

 

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A neuromorphic system is a computational model that replicates the human brain's way of thinking. It is found to be effective for the use of AI and machine learning.

The e-dermis is like a gluey layer that is applied to the fingertips of the bionic hand. It has micro cables and sensors which translate the outside world into electrical impulses. Imagine it like sunscreen that you put on and can now tell how hot the sun is on your skin.

 

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What makes this piece particularly inspiring is its capacity to spark further inquiry into robotic hands working with delicate materials such as glass or fabric. This could be achieved by its design of combined soft and hard structures, just like a human arm with skin, tissue, and bones.

Let’s go further: emotionally, amputees will feel a stronger connection with the people around them. They can now feel the touch of the other person's hand. It brings back their feelings for nature, fresh water, and the feeling of turning a book’s page. Again, sounds basic to people who do not have a bionic hand, but the world to those who do.

Let’s go furtheeer: could we perhaps feel from a distance? Or now tell temperature with the e-dermis without needing a thermometer. You can contribute to this movement. This involved so many different fields of study, like biomaterials, biomechanics, bioinstrumentation, neuroengineering.

Amaze yourself reading the article here.