A man missing an arm has been able to feel the sensation of touch in his phantom hand thanks to a newly developed artificial fingertip from Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Italy. The device interfaces with electrodes implanted into the remaining arm, not far above the stump. The fingertip was actually held by a machine that swept it repeatedly over different textured surfaces. The volunteer amputee sat back in a chair as the electrodes transferred the signals from the fingertip to the arm. Amazingly, he was able to tell what kind of surfaces the artificial fingertip swept against and has reported that the sensation is quite similar to how he feels with fingers on his existing hand.
