Jacopo Rigosa

Restoring Natural Sensory Feedback in Real-Time Bidirectional Hand Prostheses

A multigrasp, bidirectional hand prosthesis delivers dynamic sensory feedback, allowing a user with a hand amputation to achieve fine grasping force control and realistic object sensing. An Artificial Hand’s Sense of Touch To feel the hard curvature of a baseball or the soft cylinder that is a soda can—these sensations we often take for granted. But amputees with a prosthetic arm know only that they are holding an object, the shape and stiffness discernible only by eye or from experience. Toward a more sophisticated prosthetic that can “feel” an object, Raspopovic and colleagues incorporated a feedback system connected to the amputee’s arm nerves, which delivers sensory information in real time. The authors connected electrodes in the arm nerves to sensors in two fingers of the prosthetic hand. To “feel” an object, the electrodes delivered electrical stimuli to the nerves that were proportional to the finger sensor readouts. To grasp an object and perform other motor commands, muscle signals were decoded. This bidirectional hand prosthetic was tested in a single amputee who was blindfolded and acoustically shielded to assure that sound and vision were not being used to manipulate objects. In more than 700 trials, the subject showed that he could modulate force and grasp and identify physical characteristics of different types of objects, such as cotton balls, an orange, and a piece of wood. Such sensory feedback with precise control over a hand prosthetic would allow amputees to more freely and naturally explore their environments. Hand loss is a highly disabling event that markedly affects the quality of life. To achieve a close to natural replacement for the lost hand, the user should be provided with the rich sensations that we naturally perceive when grasping or manipulating an object. Ideal bidirectional hand prostheses should involve both a reliable decoding of the user’s intentions and the delivery of nearly “natural” sensory feedback through remnant afferent pathways, simultaneously and in real time. However, current hand prostheses fail to achieve these requirements, particularly because they lack any sensory feedback. We show that by stimulating the median and ulnar nerve fascicles using transversal multichannel intrafascicular electrodes, according to the information provided by the artificial sensors from a hand prosthesis, physiologically appropriate (near-natural) sensory information can be provided to an amputee during the real-time decoding of different grasping tasks to control a dexterous hand prosthesis. This feedback enabled the participant to effectively modulate the grasping force of the prosthesis with no visual or auditory feedback. Three different force levels were distinguished and consistently used by the subject. The results also demonstrate that a high complexity of perception can be obtained, allowing the subject to identify the stiffness and shape of three different objects by exploiting different characteristics of the elicited sensations. This approach could improve the efficacy and “life-like” quality of hand prostheses, resulting in a keystone strategy for the near-natural replacement of missing hands.

Double nerve intraneural interface implant on a human amputee for robotic hand control

OBJECTIVES The principle underlying this project is that, despite nervous reorganization following upper limb amputation, original pathways and CNS relays partially maintain their function and can be exploited for interfacing prostheses. Aim of this study is to evaluate a novel peripheral intraneural multielectrode for multi-movement prosthesis control and for sensory feed-back, while assessing cortical reorganization following the re-acquired stream of data. METHODS Four intrafascicular longitudinal flexible multielectrodes (tf-LIFE4) were implanted in the median and ulnar nerves of an amputee; they reliably recorded output signals for 4 weeks. Artificial intelligence classifiers were used off-line to analyse LIFE signals recorded during three distinct hand movements under voluntary order. RESULTS Real-time control of motor output was achieved for the three actions. When applied off-line artificial intelligence reached >85% real-time correct classification of trials. Moreover, different types of current stimulation were determined to allow reproducible and localized hand/fingers sensations. Cortical organization was observed via TMS in parallel with partial resolution of symptoms due to the phantom-limb syndrome (PLS). CONCLUSIONS tf-LIFE4s recorded output signals in human nerves for 4 weeks, though the efficacy of sensory stimulation decayed after 10 days. Recording from a number of fibres permitted a high percentage of distinct actions to be classified correctly. Reversal of plastic changes and alleviation of PLS represent corollary findings of potential therapeutic benefit. SIGNIFICANCE This study represents a breakthrough in robotic hand use in amputees.

Decoding Information From Neural Signals Recorded Using Intraneural Electrodes: Toward the Development of a Neurocontrolled Hand Prosthesis

The possibility of controlling dexterous hand prostheses by using a direct connection with the nervous system is particularly interesting for the significant improvement of the quality of life of patients, which can derive from this achievement. Among the various approaches, peripheral nerve based intrafascicular electrodes are excellent neural interface candidates, representing an excellent compromise between high selectivity and relatively low invasiveness. Moreover, this approach has undergone preliminary testing in human volunteers and has shown promise. In this paper, we investigate whether the use of intrafascicular electrodes can be used to decode multiple sensory and motor information channels with the aim to develop a finite state algorithm that may be employed to control neuroprostheses and neurocontrolled hand prostheses. The results achieved both in animal and human experiments show that the combination of multiple sites recordings and advanced signal processing techniques (such as wavelet denoising and spike sorting algorithms) can be used to identify both sensory stimuli (in animal models) and motor commands (in a human volunteer). These findings have interesting implications, which should be investigated in future experiments.

Decoding of grasping information from neural signals recorded using peripheral intrafascicular interfaces

BackgroundThe restoration of complex hand functions by creating a novel bidirectional link between the nervous system and a dexterous hand prosthesis is currently pursued by several research groups. This connection must be fast, intuitive, with a high success rate and quite natural to allow an effective bidirectional flow of information between the users nervous system and the smart artificial device. This goal can be achieved with several approaches and among them, the use of implantable interfaces connected with the peripheral nervous system, namely intrafascicular electrodes, is considered particularly interesting.MethodsThin-film longitudinal intra-fascicular electrodes were implanted in the median and ulnar nerves of an amputees stump during a four-week trial. The possibility of decoding motor commands suitable to control a dexterous hand prosthesis was investigated for the first time in this research field by implementing a spike sorting and classification algorithm.ResultsThe results showed that motor information (e.g., grip types and single finger movements) could be extracted with classification accuracy around 85% (for three classes plus rest) and that the user could improve his ability to govern motor commands over time as shown by the improved discrimination ability of our classification algorithm.ConclusionsThese results open up new and promising possibilities for the development of a neuro-controlled hand prosthesis.

Neuro-fuzzy decoding of sensory information from ensembles of simultaneously recorded dorsal root ganglion neurons for functional electrical stimulation applications

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is used to improve motor function after injury to the central nervous system. Some FES systems use artificial sensors to switch between finite control states. To optimize FES control of the complex behavior of the musculo-skeletal system in activities of daily life, it is highly desirable to implement feedback control. In theory, sensory neural signals could provide the required control signals. Recent studies have demonstrated the feasibility of deriving limb-state estimates from the firing rates of primary afferent neurons recorded in dorsal root ganglia (DRG). These studies used multiple linear regression (MLR) methods to generate estimates of limb position and velocity based on a weighted sum of firing rates in an ensemble of simultaneously recorded DRG neurons. The aim of this study was to test whether the use of a neuro-fuzzy (NF) algorithm (the generalized dynamic fuzzy neural networks (GD-FNN)) could improve the performance, robustness and ability to generalize from training to test sets compared to the MLR technique. NF and MLR decoding methods were applied to ensemble DRG recordings obtained during passive and active limb movements in anesthetized and freely moving cats. The GD-FNN model provided more accurate estimates of limb state and generalized better to novel movement patterns. Future efforts will focus on implementing these neural recording and decoding methods in real time to provide closed-loop control of FES using the information extracted from sensory neurons.

Chronic multichannel neural recordings from soft regenerative microchannel electrodes during gait

Reliably interfacing a nerve with an electrode array is one of the approaches to restore motor and sensory functions after an injury to the peripheral nerve. Accomplishing this with current technologies is challenging as the electrode-neuron interface often degrades over time, and surrounding myoelectric signals contaminate the neuro-signals in awake, moving animals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of microchannel electrode implants to monitor over time and in freely moving animals, neural activity from regenerating nerves. We designed and fabricated implants with silicone rubber and elastic thin-film metallization. Each implant carries an eight-by-twelve matrix of parallel microchannels (of 120 × 110 μm2 cross-section and 4 mm length) and gold thin-film electrodes embedded in the floor of ten of the microchannels. After sterilization, the soft, multi-lumen electrode implant is sutured between the stumps of the sciatic nerve. Over a period of three months and in four rats, the microchannel electrodes recorded spike activity from the regenerating sciatic nerve. Histology indicates mini-nerves formed of axons and supporting cells regenerate robustly in the implants. Analysis of the recorded spikes and gait kinematics over the ten-week period suggests firing patterns collected with the microchannel electrode implant can be associated with different phases of gait.

Long-term usability and bio-integration of polyimide-based intra-neural stimulating electrodes

Stimulation of peripheral nerves has transiently restored lost sensation and has the potential to alleviate motor deficits. However, incomplete characterization of the long-term usability and bio-integration of intra-neural implants has restricted their use for clinical applications. Here, we conducted a longitudinal assessment of the selectivity, stability, functionality, and biocompatibility of polyimide-based intra-neural implants that were inserted in the sciatic nerve of twenty-three healthy adult rats for up to six months. We found that the stimulation threshold and impedance of the electrodes increased moderately during the first four weeks after implantation, and then remained stable over the following five months. The time course of these adaptations correlated with the progressive development of a fibrotic capsule around the implants. The selectivity of the electrodes enabled the preferential recruitment of extensor and flexor muscles of the ankle. Despite the foreign body reaction, this selectivity remained stable over time. These functional properties supported the development of control algorithms that modulated the forces produced by ankle extensor and flexor muscles with high precision. The comprehensive characterization of the implant encapsulation revealed hyper-cellularity, increased microvascular density, Wallerian degeneration, and infiltration of macrophages within the endoneurial space early after implantation. Over time, the amount of macrophages markedly decreased, and a layer of multinucleated giant cells surrounded by a capsule of fibrotic tissue developed around the implant, causing an enlargement of the diameter of the nerve. However, the density of nerve fibers above and below the inserted implant remained unaffected. Upon removal of the implant, we did not detect alteration of skilled leg movements and only observed mild tissue reaction. Our study characterized the interplay between the development of foreign body responses and changes in the electrical properties of actively used intra-neural electrodes, highlighting functional stability of polyimide-based implants over more than six months. These results are essential for refining and validating these implants and open a realistic pathway for long-term clinical applications in humans.

Hypergravity effects on myoblast proliferation and differentiation.

This study aimed at the investigation of behavior of myoblasts in conditions of altered gravity. C2C12 cells underwent stimulations by different hypergravity intensities (2 h at 5 g, 10 g, and 20 g) in the Large Diameter Centrifuge of the European Space Agency (ESA), highlighting positive effects on both proliferation and differentiation.

Stump nerve signals during transcranial magnetic motor cortex stimulation recorded in an amputee via longitudinal intrafascicular electrodes

Do central and peripheral motor pathways associated with an amputated limb retain at least some functions over periods of years? This problem could be addressed by evaluating the response patterns of nerve signals from peripheral motor fibers during transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of corticospinal tracts. The aim of this study was to record for the first time TMS-related responses from the nerves of a left arm stump of an amputee via intrafascicular longitudinal flexible multi-electrodes (tfLIFE4) implanted for a prosthetic hand control. After tfLIFE4 implant in the stump median and ulnar nerves, TMS impulses of increasing intensity were delivered to the contralateral motor cortex while tfLIFE4 recordings were carried out. Combining TMS of increasing intensity and tfLIFE4 electrodes recordings, motor nerve activity possibly related to the missing limb motor control and selectively triggered by brain stimulation without significant electromyographic contamination was identified. These findings are entirely original and indicate that tfLIFE4 signals are clearly driven from M1 stimulation, therefore witnessing the presence in the stump nerves of viable motor signals from the CNS possibly useful for artificial prosthesis control.

On the control of a robot hand by extracting neural signals from the PNS: Preliminary results from a human implantation

The development of hybrid neuroprosthetic systems (HBSs) linking the human nervous system with artificial devices is an important area of research that is currently addressed by several groups to restore sensorimotor function in people affected by different disabilities. It is particularly important to establish a fast, intuitive, bidirectional flow of information between the nervous system of the user and the smart robotic device. Among the possible solutions to achieve this goal, interfaces with the peripheral nervous system and in particular intraneural electrodes can represent an interesting choice. In the present study, thin-film longitudinal intra-fascicular electrodes were implanted in the median and ulnar nerves of an amputee. The possibility of restoring the bidirectional link between the subject and the external world was investigated during a 4 week trial. The result showed that both the extraction of motor information and the restoration of sensory function are possible.