MIT Develops Prosthetic Legs Controlled by Amputees’ Nervous System [Video]

MIT researchers revolutionized prosthesis technology by allowing amputees to walk again via nervous system control.

The research features a surgical method and robotic technology that restore a normal walking gait regulated by the user’s nervous system. Instead of robotic sensors and algorithms controlling movement at fixed rates, this novel technique offers intuitive control, similar to natural limb movement, per US News & World Report.

While walking, reconnecting residual limb muscles improves real-time prosthetic limb position feedback. Researchers found that seven patients who had this operation had better walking speed, obstacle avoidance, and stair climbing than those with traditional amputations.

Improved, More Natural Movement

Senior researcher Hugh Herr, co-director of MIT’s K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics, stressed brain control’s importance in natural gait. Herr noted that there were no records in the past that demonstrated a degree of brain control simulating natural movement, “where the human nervous system directs the motion, not a robotic algorithm.”

Traditional below-the-knee amputation disrupts the coordinated muscle movements needed for …