robot 機器人

The Smart Hand is an intricate prosthesis that incorporates four motors and forty sensors designed to provide practical motion and senses to the person using it. This is the first device of its kind that sends signals back to the brain, allowing the user to have feelings in their fingers and hand.

The Smart Hand takes advantage of the phantom limb syndrome which is the sensation amputees have that their missing body part is still attached.
By using the impulses from the brain that travel down the neurons to the site of amputation, scientists can use these signals and direct them to a mechanical device. This makes Smart Hand unique because it takes advantage of the phantom limb pathways that are available. By connecting sensors in the hand to the nerve endings in the stump of the arm, patients can feel and control the Smart Hand.

The Smart Hand project is far from creating a limb that functions as a normal hand since there are millions of nerves in a biological hand. The Smart Hand prototype represents more than 10 years of dedication and team work. Contributors from other countries include researchers in Denmark, Israel, Ireland, and Iceland.

Considering it has taken 10 years of hard work to come this far, it will take much less time to make large improvements. Whether improvements are made in the Smart Hand Project or other projects, we can expect to see substantial improvement in prosthetic work within a short amount of time.

One day those suffering from missing limbs may be able to recover at a rate beyond their expectation. Within the next decade, prostheses may be able to feel as natural as our biological part.

© 2009 PhysOrg.com

義大利和瑞典的研究人員在過去十幾年當中，一直致力於開發「智慧手」，一種指尖有感覺的機器手。這種智慧手最近與參加測試的病人相連接，透過一定的程式進行測試，它有四個發動機，還有40個與大腦直接相連的感應器。

在測試期間，病人的神經末梢與智慧手的感受體連在一起，即使它還沒有真正成為身體的一部分，智慧手的指尖已經能夠體驗到病人的感覺。在跳轉後的影片中，你可以看到這個智慧手的精確和靈巧程度。