For years, the existence of "ghost members" in amputees is a mystery that has attracted the attention of scientists around the world. There was a moment that was thought to be a psychological phenomenon, fruit of mourning for the lost member. However, over time, it has been discovered that the amputated hand card Created by measuring the brain activity of patients, it is very similar to that of people who have not lost that part of their body. In addition, some studies show that the "movement" of the amputated hand generates brain activity in amputees.

So what would happen if all of this was used to create prostheses that move in response to the movement of the amputated limb? This question was asked by a team of French scientists, of the Institute of Intelligent and Robotic Systems, Aix-Marseille University and the Regional Institute of Physical Medicine and Resumption. The answer was a prosthesis that moves led by the ghost member movements, so that patients, as they explain in a recently published study in Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology, do not need to undergo No surgical intervention or prior training.

When the ghost member stops being a ghost

About 75% of amputees has the ability to "move" your ghost member. These movements are caused by contractions developed in the muscles of the stump which were not connected to the joints before amputation. The result is similar to that of surgical reconnection this is done for the placement of some prostheses, but in this case it happens spontaneously and without surgery.

75% of amputees have the ability to move their ghost

This led these French researchers to design algorithms who recognize the muscular activity generated before the movement of the phantom limb and reproduce it in the prosthesis. By the time they performed tests in two patients with transhumeral amputations and, as you can see in this video, the results have been very encouraging. In none of the cases was the prosthesis placed on the stump, but rather near him. Nevertheless, the patients succeeded hold and release objects at will, just with a few minutes of Familiarization with the device.

This study is very positive for two reasons, mainly. On the one hand, this may involve starting a new type of prosthesis. easier to use. In many cases, those who require training end up being desperate by patients, who may become frustrated give up before mastering it. On the other hand, the results support the rest of the scientists who assured that there was a neurological explanation for the appearance of ghost members and this should be studied more thoroughly, to obtain applications as interesting and beneficial as that obtained by these French researchers.

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