Over 3 million people worldwide are affected by upper limb loss, requiring them to rely on prosthetic devices. New myoelectric devices promise to provide ever increasing precision, getting closer and closer to fully replacing the lost limb. But these devices lack a sense of touch and any way to provide feedback to the user.

This lack of feedback makes control of the device very cumbersome, and users have a harder time integrating the device into their sense of self. Both of these problems lead to many users giving up on myoelectric devices, despite the promise of great precision.

Some products have tried to remedy this by incorporating different feedback systems into their prosthetic devices. Some relay information to the user through implanted or surface electrodes that stimulate residual nerves, while others use vibration to simulate the sensation on another part of the body.

But these solutions fall short of meeting the needs of current patients. The electrical stimulation requires residual nerves to be accessible, which is not always possible, and for the implanted electrodes, require invasive surgery to implement. The vibrational stimulation does not provide an intuitive form of stimulation, and patients have a hard time relating distant vibrations to touch in their device.

Currently available technologies are not able to meet the needs of these patients and prove to be an important hurdle to overcome in the progress and adoption of myoelectric devices.

With the help of Hearing Hands, the goals becomes to ultimately improve overall control of prosthetic devices by providing users with reliable, accurate and properly scaled audio feedback. By stimulating tactile to audio feedback in real time, it can allow for improvements in grip adjustment and object manipulation. Additionally, since Hearing Hands works to restore lost sensory feedback without the use of invasive techniques, and implements an adjustable and versatile design, this allows for a more affordable, and convenient solution for a more expansive user base in relation to current prosthetic devices.

Overall with this device we hope to:

1) Improve prosthetic control for users using audio feedback

2) Simulate tactile/audio feedback in real time

3) Implement a solution without the use of non-invasive techniques

4) Accommodate a wide user base by use of adjustability and versatility in design as well as increased affordability in relation to current prosthetic devices