Danish amputee first in the world to get Bionic Hand

Dennis amputee, Aabo in February 2014 became the first person to receive a bionic hand, which allows life-like sensation to be felt from the device’s artificial fingers. The Dennis amputee was able to feel what was available in his hands by the sensors, which has been connected to his nerves of his upper arm.

This work was done by the Italy surgeons, who connected the hand with the nerves in his upper arm. These relayed signals direct to his brain, which allows him to control the force of his grip. Restoration of senses of touch and feel to amputees is a major goal in the field of neuro-engineering. 

Aabo lost his hand in a firework accident about a decade before. The research project was carried out by an international team, which included robotic experts from Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

The sensors to the artificial hand sensed the measure information about touch using computer algorithms in which the research team of scientists transformed the electrical signals they emitted into an impulse that sensory nerves could interpret.

The researchers implanted four electrodes onto the nerves in the patients’ upper arm during the operation that were connected to the artificial sensors in the fingers of the prosthetic hand, which allows him to touch and pressure and sent feedback directly to the brain. Details of the operation of the amputee were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.