Artificial Electronic Skin and Pain Stimuli

An interesting development: Artificial electronic skin that reacts to pain. Human skin—the largest sensory organ—"is indicative of health. …pin pricks are used to study the response of a nervous system to evaluate degree of paralysis from nerve damage. Artificial skin receptors that demonstrate such feedback ability are integral to advancements in healthcare and intelligent robotics.” The journal Advanced Intelligent Systems reports on the development of an artificial system that converts the information received from sensors, paving the way to potential prosthetics and skin grafts.

Pain thresholds reached from applied cold, heat, or pressure are mimicked through the pain-sensing prototype: "We're sensing things all the time through the skin but our pain response only kicks in at a certain point, like when we touch something too hot or too sharp. No electronic technologies have been able to realistically mimic that very human feeling of pain—until now,” commented Madhu Bhaskaran, the lead researcher. The artificial skin is also stretchable and in the future may be used for noninvasive skin grafts.

 

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Other Categories:

• skin conditions

• wearable technology