BCIwiki (bciwiki.com) — The VA Office of Research and Development is recruiting participants for a clinical trial that uses nerve stimulation to characterize proprioceptive sensations in the missing limb of upper limb amputees and to develop advanced controllers for moving a prosthesis. The trial was first posted on July 1, 2021, under identifier NCT04947462, and its status is currently recruiting.
The research team applies Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), which delivers small electric currents to the nerves, generating signals that are transferred to the brain much like information from an intact limb. The trial will test different stimulation placements to determine which ones provide proprioceptive sensations and whether these sensations can convey limb movement and position. The intervention involves a chronically implanted neural and muscular interface, and the trial is conducted in the United States.