Scientists create prosthetic legs which amputees can feel
Scientists have created a prosthetic leg which amputees can really feel, Daily Mail reports.
While prosthetic limbs are far more advanced than in the 20th century, their major flaw is that they are not really part of someone's body.
Amputees cannot feel them, so are at constant risk of falling, needing to concentrate and must keep an eye on the leg's position at all times.
Now researchers have solved the problem, allowing people to feel every time their prosthetic foot hits the ground or knee bends to walk.
Their new prosthetic leg does this by sending electrical signals to four electrodes surgically implanted into the tibial nerve in someone's thigh.
The nerve would normally pick up feeling from the foot and lower leg, so can be hijacked to do the same for a metal leg and rubber foot with eight sensors attached.
The leg has been found to work three people with above-the-knee amputations, who were able to climb stairs 30 per cent faster and avoid tripping over unseen obstacles.