Amputees

Amputees

Gurpreet Singh Dhillon

8/26/1999

Dear All:

I am working with Professor Kenneth Horch at the University of utah on a
project to interface a neuroprosthetic arm to human amputee nerve stumps.
This will involve the implantation of intrfascicular electrodes(LIFEs) in
nerve stump fascicles.
Our work over the past three years has demonstaretd that this technology
may provide the amputee with more natural sensory feedback and direct
volitional control over the artificial limb motions than is posible with
any of the control strategies currently available.
 Our subject population consisted of patients with chronic
nerve transection injuries undergoing elective nerve repair surgery or
amputees undergoing neuroma resection/stump revision procedures. We are
now focusing on amputees only. As such subjects (who are undergoing
elective stump surgeries) are hard to come by at any one institution, we
are looking for more clinical collaborators i.e plastic/hand surgeons, who
can provide us with more volunteers. The research is now progressing to
the next phase which will involve the evaluation of the long term
feasibility of LIFEs as an interface to provide control signals to a
neuroprosthetic arm. During this phase the amputee will also be given the
opportunity to control the arm with neural signals. This study is purely
experimental and no amputee will permanently receive the Neuroprosthetic
Arm. If you know of any surgeon(s) who operate on upper limb amputees on
'regular' basis (2-3 a year), please let me know.


Regards


Gurpreet Dhillon MD

Nuroprosthetics Lab.
2480 MEB
Univ. of Utah
Salt LAke City Ut 84112


(801) 581 5928
(801) 517 3788