One of the biggest obstacles for those who wear prosthetic limbs is learning to control the device so that it moves like a real limb. Electromyography, a technique for recording electrical activity from the muscles, is used to control the majority of prosthetic limbs; nevertheless, this method only offers restricted control over the prosthesis.

A research team from the BioRobotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, coordinated by Prof. Christian Cipriani, has developed an alternative approach that could offer much more precise control of prosthetic limbs. They created the first prosthetic hand controlled by magnets, enabling amputees to move it by thought.

First, the researchers used MRI scans and electromyography, which measures electrical activity in muscle tissue, to ascertain how Daniel's left arm stump's muscles tightened as he imagined manipulating the fingers of his missing hand. Daniel was a suitable candidate in part because he was already suffering from phantom limb sensation, a typical condition in which amputees continue to sense the presence of a missing limb, reports NewAtlas.

The researchers inserted six tiny magnets, each measuring only a few millimeters, into a handful of the major muscles in accordance with their observations. Daniel was then supplied with a prosthetic hand called Mia-Hand, which came with a carbon fiber cuff that he wore over his arm stump.

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Magnetic field sensors in the cuff picked up the matching movements of the implanted magnets as the muscles in that arm contracted in response to his thoughts about moving his fingers. The hand's fingers were stimulated to move in the corresponding manner based on which magnets and muscles were moving in which direction.

In the tests conducted thus far, Daniel has opened jars, used screwdrivers, closed zip-lock bags, cut with a knife, and lifted and moved a variety of objects with his hand. Additionally, he demonstrated the ability to control how hard he grasped fragile objects.

"The trial on the first patient was successful," says Cipriani. "We are ready to extend these results to a broader range of amputations."

The results of the trial were presented in the scientific journal Science Robotics and represent a significant step forward for the future of prostheses. “This result rewards a decades-long research path. We have finally developed a functional prosthesis that meets the needs of a person who has lost a hand” says Prof. Cipriani.