The MiniTouch wearable device consists of a small sensor placed on an amputee’s prosthetic finger and electrodes that mimic sensations on the residual arm.
The electrodes on the amputated arm are able to relay the temperature of the object being touched by the finger sensor, giving “the illusion that we are cooling down, or warming up, missing fingers”.
The researchers said their findings could allow amputees to have temperature-sensing technology built into their prosthetic limbs, without the need for invasive technology.
The team said they developed MiniTouch after unexpectedly discovering that amputees somehow are able to feel temperatures in their missing hand.
Dr Solaiman Shokur, a neuroengineer and scientist at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, said: “We discovered a new mechanism that we call the thermal phantom sensation.”
In an able-bodied person, if something hot or cold is placed on the forearm, that person will...