Our sense of touch is highly complex, but scientists and technology companies are coming up with clever ways to mimic and enhance it. NHS England estimates that around 250,000 people in the UK have had part or all of a limb removed. Prosthetics have improved significantly in recent decades, yet around a fifth of these amputees refuse to wear them and, of those who do, many are dissatisfied. At least one reason for this dissatisfaction is that prosthetic limbs don't give the wearer any 'feedback' about the things with which they come into contact. US company Atom Limbs is trying to address this issue with the Atom Touch, a 'mind-controlled' prosthetic limb slated for release in 2024. When someone's arm is removed, the neurons that once connected to their hands may still be in place and can still send signals from the stump to the brain. The Atom Touch has movement sensors in its hand, and these transmit electrical signals to the wearer's stump via electrodes. That can tell their brain that the prosthetic hand is in contact with something, giving what the firm calls a "basic" sense of touch.
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