Years of research plus hours of surgery have resulted in the successful implant of a prosthetic hand to human nerve tissue to allow the device to give its wearer a sense of touch.




Danish amputee Dennis Aabo Sørensen, the test subject, said: "The sensory feedback was incredible. I could feel things that I hadn't been able to feel in over nine years. When I held an object, I could feel if it was soft or hard, round or square."

A five-hour operation saw four electrodes grafted onto the ulnar and median nerves in Sørensen's upper arm.

Stanisa Raspopovic, first author of the research paper about the operation stated: "We were worried about reduced sensitivity in Dennis' nerves since they hadn't been used in over nine years."

Sadly, Sørensen will have to give up the prosthetic now that the experiment is over.