Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a new strategy that could offer much more precise control of prosthetic limbs. After inserting small magnetic beads into muscle tissue, they can accurately measure the length of a muscle as it contracts, and this measurement can be relayed to a robotic prosthesis within milliseconds.
Get latest articles and stories on Science at LatestLY. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a new strategy that could offer much more precise control of prosthetic limbs. After inserting small magnetic beads into muscle tissue, they can accurately measure the length of a muscle as it contracts, and this measurement can be relayed to a robotic prosthesis within milliseconds. Science News | Magnets Could Offer Better Control of Prosthetic Limbs: Study.
For people with amputation who have prosthetic limbs, one of the greatest challenges is controlling the prosthesis so that it moves the same way a natural limb would. Most prosthetic limbs are controlled using electromyography, a way of recording electrical activity from the muscles, but this approach provides only limited control of the prosthesis.