{"id":2176,"date":"2022-10-12T12:26:19","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T12:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=2176"},"modified":"2022-10-12T12:26:19","modified_gmt":"2022-10-12T12:26:19","slug":"helping-the-body-and-brain-to-welcome-bionic-limbs-and-implants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2176\/helping-the-body-and-brain-to-welcome-bionic-limbs-and-implants\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping the body and brain to welcome bionic limbs and implants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Artificial limbs, implants and extra thumbs restore and add to our body\u2019s natural capabilities, but how do the brain and nervous system welcome these new body parts?<\/p>\n

By<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0GARETH WILLMER<\/p>\n

Not that long ago, the concept of the bionic human seemed far-fetched, but wearable robotic suits, brain-controlled extra limbs and mind-operated wheelchairs are now under active development. It brings the dream of human-machine integration much closer.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is a super-exciting time for robotic technologies and advancements,\u2019 said Professor Tamar Makin, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge, UK. \u2018We\u2019re seeing sci-fi-level bionic limbs and out-of-the-box designs for prosthetic limbs that don\u2019t look like body parts.\u2019<\/p>\n

For some, that might seem a slightly unsettling idea. Obviously, wearable robotics and bionic implants could have multiple benefits as medical devices, such as for improving prosthetics. But beyond that, bionics and wearable robotics could potentially enhance people\u2019s capabilities in the workplace and boost productivity.<\/p>\n

Given such rapid advances, Prof Makin said the question arises about how the human body and brain adapt to and assimilate these devices. \u2018I was feeling like a big chunk that\u2019s often left out of this discussion is how the brain and cognition of users will relate to an artificial body part,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

Prof Makin leads\u00a0the Horizon-supported EmbodiedTech project<\/a>\u00a0to explore such questions as how effectively the human brain can support artificial body parts. Also, to what extent does the brain start to\u00a0recognise an artificial limb as part of someone\u2019s body<\/a>? How much does this rely on it looking like a real limb? And how does the brain implement feedback from the limb?<\/p>\n

Wearable robotics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Answering such questions is key to making wearable robotics as user-friendly as possible and helping to ensure our brains can deal with them. There is scope for improvement as indicated by some estimates that as many as\u00a0half of amputees do not use their current prostheses regularly<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One study conducted by Prof Makin\u2019s team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on both people with a missing hand and two-handed people. They found\u00a0the more regularly someone uses their prosthesis, the stronger the brain area associated with recognising hands responds to images of prostheses.<\/p>\n

Prosthetic users also had stronger neural connections between areas allowing people to recognise and control hands, suggesting the brain had adapted itself to assimilate the prosthetic.<\/p>\n

Another study found that the brain of regular prosthesis users appears to represent prostheses as a separate category to a hand or a tool. This is because it reacts more similarly between different prosthetics resembling real hands and those that don\u2019t \u2013 such as a mechanical hook \u2013 than between those and hands or tools.<\/p>\n

\u2018The different types of prosthetics are represented similarly to each other, so they\u2019re clustered as one category,\u2019 said Prof Makin. \u2018The brain is by no means tricked to associate these prosthetics with biological hands.\u2019<\/p>\n

Tentacle arms<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prof Makin said this finding means there may be less need to fully \u2018embody\u2019 prosthetics than previously thought, potentially widening the opportunities for wearable robotics.<\/p>\n

\u2018We don\u2019t have to be enslaved to the solutions we already know,\u2019 she said. \u2018We can think of completely new materials like tentacle arms because it means the brain should be able to recognise and adopt these just as well as the bionic prostheses that have been the focus of prosthetic design in the last decade.\u2019<\/p>\n

The findings also suggest more potential for augmenting the human body with extra limbs. One example of this is the robotic \u2018third thumb\u2019 that University of Cambridge colleague and\u00a0augmentation designer Dani Clode<\/a>\u00a0designed to be strapped to the hand below the little finger and controlled by sensors attached to the user\u2019s big toes.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re not supposed to have six fingers, but it seems this is a plausible solution as far as the brain is concerned,\u2019 said Prof Makin. \u2018You could use it to hold another tool ready while you\u2019re soldering, or if you\u2019re playing the guitar and need a crazy chord.\u2019<\/p>\n

Indeed, able-bodied participants who trained with the additional finger\u00a0became more adept at using it and developed a greater sense of embodiment<\/a>\u00a0over time. However, a mild change in the brain\u2019s representation of the hand\u2019s motor function after prolonged use also suggested a need for caution.<\/p>\n

\u2018We shouldn\u2019t study these technologies in isolation from the body,\u2019 Prof Makin said. \u2018We have to be very aware of potential side effects or limitations of enhanced use on the brain.\u2019<\/p>\n

Human-machine interface<\/strong><\/p>\n

In more\u00a0Horizon-funded research, the Living Bionics<\/a>\u00a0project has been studying ways to better integrate medical devices that interact directly with the nervous system. Such devices include deep brain stimulation for Parkinson\u2019s disease, as well as cochlear implants and bionic eyes used to treat auditory or visual impairments.<\/p>\n

\u2018When you implant a device, it\u2019s fundamentally very different to the surrounding tissue,\u2019 said Dr Roberto Portillo-Lara, a bioengineer at Imperial College London who works on the project. \u2018We\u2019re trying to engineer the interface between these implantable devices and physiological tissues.\u2019<\/p>\n

The problem with many current implants is that they use metals that the nervous system recognises as foreign, he explained. This can create scarring and isolate the implant, compromising it in the long term and creating potential safety issues.<\/p>\n

The solution may be to combine electronic devices with cell-laden polymers that aim to mimic the composition of biological tissues. These are carried inside a soft hydrogel that can act as a coating for existing devices or be used to create new ones.<\/p>\n

Implant coatings<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re merging different technologies from the field of biomaterials science and also working with neural stem cells, and putting them together to create living-implant coatings,\u2019 said Dr Portillo-Lara.<\/p>\n

Finding the right balance between synthetic and natural polymers is critical, he explained. \u2018Synthetic polymers offer a lot of advantages because they\u2019re robust and predictable,\u2019 said Dr Portillo-Lara. \u2018Natural polymers are more difficult to work with, but more similar to what cells are used to.\u2019<\/p>\n

Having begun with more synthetic mixes in lab tests, the composition was found to be not very conducive to cells thriving. But incorporating more natural polymers over time contributed to better-functioning coatings being achieved in the end.<\/p>\n

\u2018The answer was simple: make this more similar to natural tissues and then the cells behave better,\u2019 he said. \u2018Now it\u2019s the best of both worlds.\u2019 Dr Portillo-Lara thinks more advanced testing could commence by early next year.<\/p>\n

As with EmbodiedTech, the research has implications for future tech beyond the clinic \u2013 including for controlling machines like electric wheelchairs with the mind. \u2018How to better interface with the nervous system has implications for brain-computer interfaces,\u2019 said Dr Portillo-Lara.<\/p>\n

Brain effects<\/strong><\/p>\n

That means it\u2019s crucial to understand the possible effects on the brain. \u2018We have to think what\u2019s going to happen once these technologies become accessible enough so that not only patients will want to receive one of these implants, but also regular consumers.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dr Portillo-Lara believes such technologies could be ready within a decade, although predicting when they will become available is much trickier given challenges with ethics and regulations.<\/p>\n

\u2018The applications would be virtually limitless,\u2019 he said. \u2018There are a lot of emerging applications that we cannot even envision at the moment because the technology doesn\u2019t exist.\u2019<\/p>\n

Research in this article was funded via the EU\u2019s European Research Council (ERC). \u00a0The article was originally published\u202fin <\/em>Horizon<\/em><\/a>, the EU Research and Innovation Magazine.\u202f\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

More info<\/p>\n

Follow the links below for more information about these Horizon projects.<\/p>\n

EmbodiedTech<\/a><\/p>\n

Living Bionics<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artificial limbs, implants and extra thumbs restore and add to our body\u2019s natural capabilities, but how do the brain and nervous system welcome these new body parts? By\u00a0GARETH WILLMER Not that long ago, the concept of the bionic human seemed far-fetched, but wearable robotic suits, brain-controlled extra limbs and mind-operated wheelchairs are now under active … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":2177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nHelping the body and brain to welcome bionic limbs and implants - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2176\/helping-the-body-and-brain-to-welcome-bionic-limbs-and-implants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Helping the body and brain to welcome bionic limbs and implants\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Artificial limbs, implants and extra thumbs restore and add to our body\u2019s natural capabilities, but how do the brain and nervous system welcome these new body parts? 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