Nerve-Enabled Prosthesis

Knowing that nerves, formerly connected to a severed arm, continue to sprout in search for new muscle, researchers at the University of Michigan have devised tiny cups that surgeons can affix to nerve ends.  Inside the cup is a biological scaffold with implanted muscle cells to which the nerves attach.  Wires to the cup then allow brain signals to activate movement in a prosthetic arm, though the investigators imagine this might be done wirelessly too.  So far, this has succeeded with rats.          MORE

Image Credit: Paul Cederna and Technology Review