Scientists in Arnold Schwarzenegger's native Austria have combined flesh and machine – this time for real.
In a world-first, three men have been given robotic hands which can be controlled with their minds, just like the ones they used to have.
Each of the three men had suffered from pain and poor hand function after motor vehicle and climbing accidents, reports The Lancet.
Before having their hands amputated, they spent about nine months practising control of virtual and hybrid hands – the latter being a "prosthetic hand attached to a splint-like device fixed to their non-functioning hand".
Following amputation each of the men had a new robotic hand attached, which connected to their existing, biological nervous system.
"The scientific advance here was that we were able to create and extract new neural signals via nerve transfers amplified by muscle transplantation," says Prof Oskar Aszmann, director of the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Restoration of Extremity Function at the Medical University of Vienna.
"These signals were then decoded and translated into solid mechatronic hand function."
Three months after receiving their new hands, all three men reported improved quality of life and less pain than with their original, damaged hands. All were able to accomplish everyday tasks such as pouring water out of a jug, undoing buttons and using a knife.
"So far, bionic reconstruction has only been done in our centre in Vienna," says Prof Aszmann. "However, there are no technical or surgical limitations that would prevent this procedure from being done in centres with similar expertise and resources."
However encouraging the breakthrough, there are doubts of the long-term potential for the robotic prostheses.
"The final verdict will depend on long-term outcomes, which should include assessment of in what circumstances and for what proportion of their day patients wear and use their prostheses," Prof Simon Kay, who carried out the UK's first-ever hand transplant a few years back, told The Lancet.
"Compliance declines with time for all prostheses, and motorised prostheses are heavy, need power, and are often noisy, as well as demanding skilled repair when damaged."
The reconstructions took place between April 2011 and May 2014, and the research was published in today's issue of The Lancet.
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