Review on tactile sensory feedback of prosthetic hands for the upper-limb amputees by sensory afferent stimulation

Loss of sensory function for upper-limb amputees inevitably devastates their life qualities, and lack of reliable sensory feedback is the biggest defect to sophisticated prosthetic hands, greatly hindering their usefulness and perceptual embodiment. Thus, it is extremely necessary to accomplish an intelligent prosthetic hand with effective tactile sensory feedback for an upper-limb amputee. This paper presents an overview of three kinds of existing sensory feedback approaches, including cutaneous mechanical stimulation (CMS), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and direct peripheral nerve electrical stimulation (DPNES). The emphasis concentrates on major scientific achievements, advantages and disadvantages. The TENS on the skin areas with evoked finger sensation (EFS) at upper-limb amputees’ residual limbs might be one of the most promising approaches to realize natural sensory feedback.