neuroprosthetics

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the field combining neuroscience and engineering to design and implement devices that replace or restore the function of impaired sensory, motor, or cognitive neural systems; neuroprosthetics encompasses cochlear implants that restore hearing by electrically stimulating the auditory nerve, retinal prostheses that restore partial vision in patients with retinal degeneration, cortical visual prostheses that stimulate visual cortex to produce phosphenes, and motor neuroprosthetics that restore limb movement or communication in paralysis; modern motor neuroprosthetics may either control external robotic devices using decoded neural signals (extracorporeal) or directly stimulate muscles through functional electrical stimulation coordinated with decoded motor intent (functional restoration); somatosensory feedback — restoring the sense of touch and proprioception — is a major frontier in motor neuroprosthetics, since prosthetic arms that provide neural feedback of grip force and object contact dramatically improve control and embodiment; the ethical questions surrounding long-term neurosurgical implants, the durability of implant performance, and equitable access to expensive technology are central concerns in the field

Examples

• Neuroprosthetics researchers implanted a 96-channel electrode array in motor cortex to enable control of a dexterous robotic hand.
• The patient received a somatosensory neuroprosthetic that restored touch sensation to her prosthetic fingers.