A robotic hand is coming to be implanted in humans

A grant of 34.5 million dollars to Johns Hopkins University, for the development and testing of a prosthetic robotic hand in humans, which is controlled directly by the brain

Three thousand years ago, an Egyptian princess suffered from diabetes, and as a result of the severe complications of the disease, lost the toe on her right foot. Such a physical disability was not acceptable in the eyes of the royal family, and thus the princess won the first prosthesis known to us, in the form of a toe made of wood and stiff animal skin. This, at least, is how I usually imagine the course of events that led to the creation of the prosthetic toe that was discovered in Egypt, attached to the leg of an ancient mummy.

There is no doubt that the Egyptians are endowed with talented engineers. They also managed to plan and build the pyramids, and with the help of the Jews, also the cities of the poor. With all their wisdom, we must admit that that prosthetic toe was not very successful. It could not be controlled or moved, it was tied in place with leather straps, and provided no more than a semblance of integrity. More than three thousand years have passed since then, and in these days it is already possible to declare the opening of a new era of artificial limbs, those capable of accurately imitating human limbs, and even moving by the power of thought alone, thanks to their direct connection with the brain.

The new era opened with a grant of 34.5 million dollars to Johns Hopkins University, for the development and testing of a prosthetic robotic hand in humans, which is controlled directly by the brain. The robotic hand includes an arm, palm and five fingers, each of which is able to move according to the operator's will. Its weight does not exceed that of a natural human hand - four and a half kilograms - and it provides flexibility and movement ability similar to that of the original. And most importantly, the instructions to move the hand come directly from the brain, thanks to tiny electrodes that are implanted in the central nervous system and receive the electrical messages that the nerve cells send. The artificial hand will function, in effect, as a third hand controlled by the brain, just like our two normal hands. It will also be able to receive messages from the environment and transmit them to the brain, where the electrodes will stimulate the appropriate cells and make the patient feel as if the robotic hand is also endowed with a real sense of touch.

Similar technologies have been developed in recent years and tested mainly on monkeys. In the last two years, studies and films have been published showing cockroach monkeys effectively controlling robotic hands using electrodes implanted in their brains. The scientific progress achieved thanks to the experiments on monkeys now makes it possible to move forward to actual experiments on humans. According to the research program, in the next two years five people will receive a robotic hand that will be attached to their body. All five will be patients paralyzed in all four limbs. The ability to move a new hand can bring about a significant change in their lives. If the robotic hand proves its safety, the next step will be its implantation in amputees, and especially in American soldiers returning from the battlefields in Afghanistan and Iraq.

So far everything looks good and fine, but there are still difficult engineering obstacles on the way to assembling prostheses that will remain connected to the body and brain for a long time. The main problem lies in the array of electrodes that must be implanted in the patient's brain. The body tries to reject and move the electrodes away, and within a few months they form the focus of an immune reaction that could, in the worst case, endanger the patient's life. In the best case, the body forms over years an insulating scar tissue around the electrodes, which prevents them from continuing to function. The researchers will have to find a solution to the problem of immune rejection, before we start seeing robocops roaming the roads of the country.

And what if such a solution is found in the coming years? Disabled people will get robotic hands, which will completely replace the bones, tendons and muscles from the past. And why stop only the disabled? Why shouldn't an astronaut, for example, be able to use eight hands, like an octopus, to make repairs in space? And why only astronauts? Why not construction workers, for example? The plumber of the future may hold the pipe with both of his fleshy hands, while sending robotic tentacles into the pipe. These contain cameras that transmit the information to his mind, and he is able to order them to weld the weak points in the piping from the inside, just as if they were flesh from his flesh, steel from his bones. On Shabbat, of course, they will be turned off automatically, in accordance with the BDS training.

The possibilities are unlimited, as is the future, but they depend on our ability to develop materials that will better integrate with the body, and hopefully in the coming years we will better understand the human brain. In two years we will see what the condition of the five candidates for interfacing with the robotic hand is, and what the future holds for us.

Here's a video showing the hand in action, attached to a remote control. After the first 45 seconds, the particularly impressive sections begin, in which the hand's abilities to move the fingers with impressive flexibility are demonstrated.