Assessing the utility of Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interfaces (RPNIs) in providing referred sensations in a...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Upper limb prostheses offer limited sensory feedback to users.
• Previous research shows Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interfaces (RPNIs) can evoke phantom hand sensations via electrical stimulation.
• Eliciting sensation is crucial for improving prosthesis functionality and user experience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if RPNI-elicited sensation can enhance performance in a functional task.
• To compare the effects of non-somatotopic versus somatotopic RPNI feedback.
• To assess user preference for different sensory feedback modalities.

Main Methods:

• Two participants with upper limb loss performed the Box and Blocks Test in a virtual environment.
• Four feedback conditions were tested: no feedback, vibration, non-somatotopic RPNI stimulation, and somatotopic RPNI stimulation.
• RPNI stimulation was triggered by virtual object contact.

Main Results:

• Participants moved more blocks with somatotopic RPNI feedback compared to other conditions.
• A moderate effect size was observed for the improvement with somatotopic feedback.
• Both participants preferred the somatotopic sensation, reporting more natural movement perception.

Conclusions:

• RPNI-elicited somatotopic sensory feedback has the potential to improve functional task performance for upper limb prosthesis users.
• This feedback modality can lead to a more intuitive and natural user experience.
• Further research is warranted to explore the broader applications of RPNI sensory feedback in prosthetics.