Bionic arms. How do amputees with bionic arms control the fingers and wrists to do things like picking up a cup and drinking so smoothly?

Question

This was asked a few years ago on here, but things have apparently improved a lot since then.

The top answer from before was describing a process that was a little cumbersome, but there’s videos of folks with new arms moving them and using their new hands much more smoothly than I would have thought possible using the older method described.

In: 100

Answer 1

If you have a severed limb, your brain can still send electrical signals through your nervous system (this is also what causes “phantom limb” pain). If you think about moving your arm, your brain will send the signal, which is then detected by receptors in the arm. A computer in the limb will then interpret the signals and move the arm accordingly.