The cognitive neural prosthetic (CNP) is a very versatile method for assisting paralyzed patients and patients with amputations. The CNP records the cognitive state of the subject, rather than signals strictly related to motor execution or sensation. We review a number of high-level cortical signals and their application for CNPs, including intention, motor imagery, decision making, forward est...

Control of prostheses using cortical signals is based on three elements: chronic microelectrode arrays, extraction algorithms, and prosthetic effectors. Arrays of microelectrodes are permanently implanted in cerebral cortex. These arrays must record populations of single- and multiunit activity indefinitely. Information containing position and velocity correlates of animate movement needs to be...

1 Executive Director, Committee on Prosthetics Research and Development, National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council Early in 1945, at the request of the Surgeon General of the Army, the National Research Council sponsored a conference of surgeons, engineers, physicists, and prosthetists to consider the feasibility of effecting improvements in artificial limbs (2). Conclusions that e...

The descriptive words “Rehabilitation Engineering” were not used widely, if at all, in America until the late 1960s and early 1970s, and then mostly by persons who had first been involved with prosthetics research and development immediately after World War II. Rehabilitation engineering in America owes its birth to the federal agencies that fostered its development after they had been so succe...

The final developments of a prosthetic hand, the Touch Hand, were made near the end of 2013. This hand was aimed at addressing the lack of sensory feedback in prosthetic hand technology. This paper discusses the technology and improvements on commercial prosthetic hands and the Touch Hand, whilst giving a brief insight into recent technological advances. These improvements are used to form a se...

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, a relatively new diagnostic instrument, is a noninvasive imaging method which, among its many advantages, uses no ionizing radiation. There are a few limitations and contraindications to its use. There may be displacement of intracerebral aneurysm clips and metallic implants, and cardiac pacemakers can be disabled because of the high magnetic field created by...