Today’s Solutions: November 02, 2024

In prosthetics, the most common technology for controlling limbs is called electromyography. This technique records electrical activity from the muscles, but only provides only limited control of the prosthesis, preventing users to move the artificial body part the same way they would move a natural limb.

In a bid to overcome this challenge, scientists at MIT Media Lab have developed a new approach that allows more precise control for people with amputation who have prosthetic limbs.

The novel method, called magnetomicrometry (MM) involves the insertion of small magnetic beads into the muscle tissue where the amputation is. This allows the accurate measurement of the length of contracting muscles in a non-invasive way while providing feedback within a few milliseconds.

By inserting a pair of magnets into the muscle, the movement of the magnets can be measured, showing how much the muscle is contracting and how long the contraction lasts. The obtained data is then fed into a computer model that predicts where the patient’s phantom limb would be, based on the contractions of the remaining muscles. This process then instructs the prosthesis to move the way the patient wants it to.

The team plans to conduct a demonstration experiment test with real patients within the next few years.

“Our hope is that MM will replace electromyography as the dominant way to link the peripheral nervous system to bionic limbs. And we have that hope because of the high signal quality that we get from MM, and the fact that it’s minimally invasive and has a low regulatory hurdle and cost,” said Hugh Herr, senior author of the paper.

Study source: Science RoboticsMagnetomicrometry

Image source: MIT Media Lab

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

This heartwarming Danish ad breaks down the ‘Us vs Them’ narrative

It’s rare that we publish a story about an advertisement, but then again it’s rare that an ad stirs so much emotion within its ...

Read More

NOAHs: Charlotte has a formula for long-lasting affordable housing

We recently shared how empty retail space could be the solution to California’s affordable housing crisis. Across the country in North Carolina, the city ...

Read More

A seat at the table for underrepresented communities

Climate change is already affecting all of us—however, those that bear the brunt of these consequences are predominantly from low-income, marginalized, BIPOC communities. So ...

Read More

Expanding democracy: Michigan opens new doors for formerly incarcerated voters

Malijah Gee's path from incarceration at the age of 17 to imminent freedom reflects the longing for a voice that has been suppressed for 36 years. ...

Read More