Sensory Feedback for Touch and Proprioception With Prosthetic Limbs

Sensory Feedback Tactor Systems for Implementation of Physiologically Relevant Cutaneous Touch and Proprioception With Prosthetic Limbs

Upper limb amputation is a devastating injury that leaves many thousands of typically young and active individuals in the US to rely on artificial arms and hands to help restore their lost function. The investigators research is focused on helping these individuals to feel where their prosthetic limbs are moving without having to look at them by developing devices and approaches to provide sensory feedback of limb movement through the nerves that once served the missing limb.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Prosthetic
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Tactor array; Device: Bypass Tactor

Detailed Description

In the investigators research the investigators seek to understand the organization and (function/operation) of sensory neural systems in order to develop methods for restoring function to injured populations. One of the primary focus areas of the investigators research is working to integrate physiologically relevant sensory feedback with prosthetic limbs. To this end the investigators employ a variety of approaches that interweave disciplines such as electrophysiology, psychophysics, biomedical engineering and cognition. The investigators research team is composed of an interconnected and communicative network of clinicians, engineers, and scientists. This helps us to provide pathways from basic science discoveries that can be used to address clinical needs with transition directly to patient care.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 21

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Alberta
    • Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T5B0B7
      • University of Alberta Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital
• United States
  • Ill
    • Chicago, Ill, United States, 60611
      • Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
  • Ohio
    • Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44195
      • Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
    • Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44106
      • Louis Stokes VA Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Amputees who have undergone targeted sensory reinnervation

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Amputee criteria:

• Must be over 18 years of age
• Must be upper extremity amputee who has undergone targeted sensory reinnervation.

Able Bodied participants:

• Must be over 18 years of age

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Upper Extremity Amputee; Robust custom tactor to facilitate embodiment and proprioception	Device: Tactor array
Able Bodied; Bypass tactor	Device: Bypass Tactor

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Embodiment of the Prosthetic limb	Visual loading for fine motor tasks,questionnaires, and residual limb temperature will be assessed after 10 months of in home every day use of a custom robust tactor array for sensory feedback.	Ten months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Investigate the perceptions of limb movement	Test how closely both targeted reinnervation amputees and able bodied study participants are able to interpret limb movement using the kinesthetic perceptual illusion and physiologically relevant kinesthetic feedback.	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Louis Stokes VA Medical Center
• Collaborators: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS); The Cleveland Clinic; National Institutes of Health (NIH); University of Alberta; Shirley Ryan AbilityLab; Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; HDT Global
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Paul Marasco, PhD, Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Related Info

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: February 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 17, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): November 17, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 8, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 11, 2014
• First Posted (Estimated): July 14, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 1, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 28, 2026
• Last Verified: August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Prosthetic; Upper limb Amputee; Targeted Muscle Reinnervation
• Other Study ID Numbers: 11061-H39; R01NS081710-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)