The enormous advance that technology has had in recent decades has made medicine one of the areas that derives the most benefits from it. There are many diseases that have been discovered and have been treated in time thanks to the development of different medical devices. A problem that many people suffer from is damage to the nerves in the extremities of the body , which make it impossible for them to feel touch when touching anything. However, this could be close to changing.
Researchers from the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research were able to restore finger touch using an implant in the brain with electrodes that is very minimally invasive to the human body.
A useful discovery for many people
This would be great news and a great help to many people around the world who suffer from this problem of loss of touch.
The team had previously worked on other ways to restore touch, for example using technology that was capable of connecting the brain to a computer.
But now, this new technology makes it possible to go further and stimulate more difficult-to-reach areas of the brain thanks to the use of electrodes that cause precise sensations in the fingertips.
This may be the first step in the development of future medical technology that allows restoration of touch.
To place these implants the following technique is applied: the doctor implants electrodes in the brain of the patients in a minimally invasive way. It was tested on two people, both of whom reported feeling tingling sensations and even a “sensation of electricity” in both their hands and fingertips.
A new advance in medicine
Therefore, this shows that the use of bioelectronic medicine and neurosurgery could help restore functions that would have been lost in the past. Accidents that can cause these nerve damage and loss of touch are spinal cord injuries or strokes .
There are many companies and companies that are working very hard to try to correct these injuries in people who suffer these types of injuries. Among these projects, Neuralink stands out, led by Elon Musk. Other companies are also working to recreate the sense of touch, but in robots, not humans.
Thus, it is likely that as technology advances in general, this will in turn help the development of medical devices and devices that help not only restore touch in people who have lost it, but also help with other diseases. .