We first reported on the work being performed by surgeon/engineer Todd Kuiken and his team at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago back in 2005. He has since continued this research on targeted reinnervation, and has shown that it can enhance the capabilities of prosthetic arms (e.g. to allow the amputee to “feel” temperature, texture, etc). We’re glad to see that he has no signs of stopping, as evidenced by this recently released TED talk:
There is still quite a bit left to do, as he discusses at the end of the talk when he mentions his patient’s prosthetic problems that arose just before the presentation. If you’re interested in learning more about current and future developments in prosthetics, though, check out his review article from earlier this year.
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation: Neural Interfaces for Control of Upper Limb Prostheses: The State of the Art and Future Possibilities