Clinical and Functional Benefits of Prosthetics with Multimodal Feedback

Somatosensory feedback in prosthetics has advanced considerably, with invasive and non-invasive approaches now capable of evoking touch and proprioceptive sensations. Yet modalities have largely been studied in isolation, and thermotactile feedback — the simultaneous combination of touch and temperature — remains unachieved. This is a critical gap: natural touch is inherently multimodal, and temperature is not merely a tool for object interaction but a continuous signal through which we monitor our own body. Its absence from prosthetic feedback represents a fundamental impoverishment of the sensory input the brain expects. In this talk, I will present recent advances in multimodal sensory feedback and discuss its benefits not only for improving prosthetic function and dexterity, but also for addressing key clinical consequences of amputation — including phantom limb pain and body perception distortion.

Soleiman Shokur est invité par Homaira Nawabi.