Hoda Fares
Neuro-Sense: Flexible Bioinspired neuroprostheses for sensory-motor restoration
Hoda Fares, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, has received a Lundbeck Foundation Postdoc grant worth DKK 2,236,176.
About the project
Losing a limb is a severe incidence and comes along with a radical change in life. Neuroprosthetic arms are external devices that aim to replace the missing limb. Despite their ability to partially restore some of the lost functionality and to support the user in conducting basic activities of daily living such as lifting an object, holding a cup, etc.
The current prostheses still fall short in providing effective sensory feedback that enable the amputee to feel the touch of a loved one or sense the warm embrace of family and friends. This in turn, is one of the primary motives for its rejection by amputees. Sensory feedback - mainly touch - is essential for motor control, manipulating objects, and embodiment, in addition to its pivotal role in perception. Also, it lessens the cognitive load resulting from the highly continuous attention to the prosthesis and phantom pain originated from the missing limb.
Hoda Fares Project aims at developing a ground-breaking clinically valid, intelligent bioinspired wearable neuroprosthetic technology to reinstate lost natural sensations such as tactile and cold/warm feelings for upper limb amputees and patients with sensorimotor impairments. Moreover, it’s effects will not be restricted to the improved user experience but rather exceed it to influence the user’s psychological condition and social interaction by reintegrating them faster into the society. As to the scientific community, it will be a gate opener for further research in brain-inspired brain-computer interfaces.
