Sensational

Researchers at the University of Utah have begun a four-year project to develop a bionic arm that moves naturally in response to thought and is capable of feeling.

The key to the research will be the development and testing of a 'peripheral nerve interface' — an implanted device that will relay impulses from nerves in the residual limb (the portion of limb remaining after amputation) to a small computer worn on a belt and then the bionic arm.

Sensors in the arm will send signals to nerves in the remainder of the amputated arm and then to the brain, allowing the user to sense the arm's motion and location, and to feel objects with the mechanical hand and fingers, invoking perception and feeling.

Key to this interface will be the Utah Slanted Electrode Array — a wireless device that will be able to interpret signals from residual nerves, translate them and send them wirelessly to the bionic arm. Greg Clark, principal investigator at