Robotic hands with brain control

2022: Device Announcement

In early June 2022, University of Minnesota researchers developed a more accurate and less invasive technology that allows amputees to move a robotic arm using signals from their brains rather than muscles. The implantable device attaches to a peripheral nerve in a person's hand, according to a University of Minnesota Department of Biomedical Engineering research team. Combined with a computer with artificial intelligence and a robotic arm, the device can read and interpret brain signals, allowing amputees to control the arm using only their thoughts.

The project began in 2012 when Edward Kiefer, an industry neuroscientist and CEO of Nerves, Incorporated, approached Zhi Yang about creating a nerve implant that could help amputees. The pair received funding from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and conducted several successful clinical trials with real-life amputees for June 2022. The researchers also worked with the University of Minnesota's Office of Technology Commercialization to create a startup called to commercialize the technology.

Robotic, brain-controlled human hands created

{{quote 'This is a much more intuitive system than all existing commercial systems. In other commercial prosthetics systems, when amputees want to move a finger, they don't think about moving a finger. They try to activate the muscles of the hand, since this is what the system reads. Our technology knows the patient's intentions. If users want to move their fingers, all they need to do is think about moving, "said Zhi Yang, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Minnesota. }} The technology is useful not only for amputees, but also for other patients suffering from neurological disorders and chronic pain. Invasive brain surgery will no longer be needed and brain signals can be accessed via the peripheral nerve instead, Zhi Yang said. Young added that the implantable chip has apps that go beyond medicine.^[1]

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