Inspired by Luke Skywalker, a collaboration effort between Mobius and the University of Utah has made efforts to build a robotic prosthetic arm which could aid amputees to get their sense of touch back, something that has been quite difficult considering the monumental task.
Giving someone who has lost a limb the ability to feel the same way they did as when they still had their body parts, but with replacing them with artificial ones seems a bit too ambitious. But the team wants to go beyond what only seems impossible.
In an experimental study, Mobius and the University of Utah teamed up to develop the LUKE Arm prototype—short for Life Under Kinetic Evolution, inspired by Luke Skywalker, who famously lost his right hand in a battle with Darth Vader. The prosthesis returns function and feeling to its users by signaling the nervous system via peripheral nerve stimulation, a process that utilizes an aspirin-sized implant to deliver sensory information and feedback to LUKE.
Here's how it works: The nerves near the user's amputated area are connected to electrodes, which feed into his or her arm. As the user thinks about moving LUKE, his or her brain sends electrical signals via the electrodes to LUKE, telling it to move. It's similar to the way non-amputees move their arms and fingers, except amputees using LUKE have to consciously think about moving the prosthetic. Non-amputated parts of the body don't require nearly as much thought to move.
(Image credit: Dan Hixson/University of Utah College of Engineering)