The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded a $4.9 million grant to the University of Arkansas’ Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research (I3R).
According to a UA news release Tuesday (Aug. 29), the funding will expand a clinical trial for an innovative neural-enabled prosthesis currently occurring at the UA campus in Fayetteville and including Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland as an additional clinical trial site.
The first-of-its-kind work aims to restore a sense of touch to individuals with upper limb amputation. It is the first time the UA has collaborated with Walter Reed, which houses one of the United States’ premier clinics for patients with amputations and is one of just three military hospitals that treat traumatic upper extremity amputations.
A neural-enabled prosthetic hand system.