--- title: "Doctors Wired a Prosthetic Hand Directly Into a Woman’s Nerves" description: "Researchers have attached a prosthetic hand to a woman in a way that allows her to move its fingers with her mind and even feel tactile sensations." date: "2019-02-07" modified: "2019-02-07" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/prosthetic-hand-womans-nerves" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Prosthetics and Devices" tags: - "brain interface" - "cyborgs" - "prosthetics" - "the digest" --- # Doctors Wired a Prosthetic Hand Directly Into a Woman’s Nerves ![]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* ## Sans Hand In a world first, doctors in Sweden [say they've wired]() a prosthetic hand directly into a woman's nerves**,** allowing her to move its fingers with her mind and even feel tactile sensations. The hand is an enormous step up from existing prostheses, which often rely on electrodes placed on the outside of the skin — and it could herald a future in which robotic devices interface seamlessly with our bodies. ## Nerve Case Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology and biotech firm Integrum AB created the prosthetic hand as part of DeTOP, an ambitious European research program on prosthetic limbs. Surgeons anchored the hand to the woman's forearm bones using titanium implants. They connected an array of 16 electrodes directly to her nerves and muscles, allowing her to control the hand with her mind — and, according to photos, use it to tie shoelaces and type on a laptop computer. "The breakthrough of our technology consists on enabling patients to use implanted neuromuscular interfaces to control their prosthesis while perceiving sensations where it matters for them, in their daily life," Chalmers researcher Ortiz Catalan said in a [press release](). ## Virtual Light Electronics wired straight into a human nervous system allow for mind-bending new ways to interact with technology. A video released by the Swedish researchers even shows the woman using the implant to flex a virtual hand on a computer screen — before the actual physical hand was installed. For decades, cyborg limbs like those depicted in "Star Wars" or "Neuromancer" seemed relegated to the realm of science fiction. New research shows that they're already here — just not yet widely available. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EES8U5LwaUs&feature=youtu.be **READ MORE:** [The First Dexterous and Sentient Hand Prosthesis Has Been Successfully Implanted]() \[DeTOP Project\] ***More on prosthetic limbs:*** *[A New Prosthetic Arm Takes the Place of a Phantom Limb]()* ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()