Backed by a major federal grant, researchers in the Department of Biomedical Engineering will soon begin clinical testing of an artificial hand designed to feel and respond more like the real thing.

Their groundbreaking technology could bring touch-enabled prosthetics to everyday use, and that has researchers excited.

“People with upper-limb loss deserve to have better technologies that can improve their lives,” said Emily Graczyk, PhD ’18, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and the lead researcher. Graczyk is also an investigator at the Cleveland VA Medical Center, which is collaborating on the project.

The experimental device, called iSens, allows users to both control and “feel” their prosthesis. Electrodes implanted in the arm detect muscle movement that normally would control the hand. It sends touch sensation from the fingertips of the prosthesis to the brain, communicating through Bluetooth.

The technology has been under development at Case and the VA since 2015 and was featured in a 2023 episode of 60 Minutes.

The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs agreed to provide $9.9 million to fund clinical trials, which are expected to begin in early 2026, lending the technology a critical boost.

“The significant funding allows us to complete this clinical trial that wouldn’t necessarily get venture capital investment at this stage,” said Dustin Tyler, PhD ’99, the Arthur S. Holden Professor of Biomedical Engineering and the study’s coinvestigator. “This grant will allow us to remove one big barrier to translation.”

Tyler and Graczyk developed the technology and stimulation techniques. Even they were surprised at how much a sense of touch transformed the prosthesis from a basic tool into something that felt more like one’s own hand.

“Having a sense of touch improves so many different aspects involved in quality of life,” said Graczyk, “including the sense of connectedness to loved ones, self-sufficiency, self-image, and social interaction.”

Twelve people with amputated upper limbs are to live with a sensory-enabled arm, allowing researchers to test the smart prosthetics and refine and improve them.

If you would like to be part of the study, contact study coordinator Jessica Jarvela, at jrw20@case.edu.