A research team from the University of Southampton (United Kingdom) and the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (Switzerland) has developed a technology that allows amputees to sense the moisture of an object they touch with a prosthesis.

The new sensor, which reads a specific set of thermal signals, is attached to a prosthetic arm and connected to a stimulator that touches the user’s limb stump so it can detect moisture in the skin. This invention was the first of its kind: it allowed the sensory sensations and perception of prosthetic limbs to be improved by users.

“The new technology expands the range of natural sensations that amputees can feel, improving the contouring and acceptance of the prosthesis. “People can feel that the prosthesis belongs to their body,” said Dr. Filingery, Associate Professor of Thermal Physiology at the University of Southampton and Director of ThermoSenseLab.

The results of the research and the description of the technology were published in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems.