Bone-anchored Mia Hand cuts Karin's phantom pain from 5 to 3

Swedish amputee Karin uses a bone-anchored, nerve-linked Mia Hand daily; phantom pain fell 5 to 3, stump pain gone (Sci. Robotics 2023).

3ⓘ

AI system

System

Transradial neuromusculoskeletal prosthesis: osseointegrated titanium implants with implanted muscle and nerve electrodes, an embedded controller, and the Prensilia Mia Hand

Model

Not assessed

Release

Exact release not established.

Application developer

Center for Bionics and Pain Research (Chalmers University of Technology and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal) with Integrum AB; hand by Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and Prensilia SRL, under the EU DeTOP project

Role

Not assessed

Configuration

The participant used a Mia Hand.

Inputs and outputs

Not assessed

Autonomy

Not assessed

Workflow

Osseointegrated titanium implants giving skeletal attachment and a wired path from implanted electrodes to the hand. Surgical reconstruction that transfers severed nerves to free muscle grafts, adding myoelectric sites and treating neuropathic pain. A self-contained prosthesis with an embedded controller and battery that needs no external equipment, so it can be worn all day.

Human oversight

The patient controlled the hand through signals from her implanted electrodes.

Relation to AI

The benefit comes from the whole neuromusculoskeletal interface, not from a learned model alone. The paper reports that in daily life the hand ran on direct control. Signals from two implanted electrodes mapped to open and close, and a sustained open signal switched grasps. Decoding of six movements (100 percent completion) and of five individual fingers (up to 95 percent) was shown in laboratory Motion Tests. The paper never uses the words AI or machine learning. The AI framing comes from the institutions' release (Brånemark: osseointegration, reconstructive surgery, implanted electrodes “and AI”). It also comes from CNN (“AI algorithms inside the prosthesis interpret the signal”). Keep the record only if that framing is acceptable as the AI claim.

AI contribution

Implanted electrodes let the patient control the prosthetic hand. Daily use relied on direct signals for opening, closing, and changing the grasp; more complex decoding was demonstrated in laboratory tests.

Benefits

Outcome identifiers

Not assessed

Benefit

her phantom limb pain fell from 5 to 3, stump pain vanished

Category

Improved Physical Health

Status

Not assessed

Beneficiary groups

People.

Beneficiaries

Not assessed

Reach

Not assessed

Distribution and access

Not assessed

Duration

Not assessed

Expected?

Yes

Costs and harms

Not assessed

Measurement

Studies

Not assessed

Study design

Not assessed

Measurement

Not assessed

Setting and sample

Not assessed

Measures

her phantom limb pain fell from 5 to 3, stump pain vanished

Comparison

her own phantom limb pain and stump pain before the neuromusculoskeletal prosthesis (also a conventional prosthesis for grip precision)

Results

Reference: phantom pain level 5. Result: phantom pain level 3; stump pain vanished entirely.

Additional value from AI

Not assessed

Limitations

The paper does not identify a learned model or describe the method as AI. The institutions’ announcement and CNN supply that description. The reported benefit cannot be attributed to a learned decoder alone.

Denominators

Not assessed

Materials for replication

Not assessed

Money

Kind of value

Not assessed

Amount

Not assessed

Currency and prices

Not assessed

Period and unit

Not assessed

Realization

Not assessed

Recipients and payers

Not assessed

Gross or net

Not assessed

Included costs

Not assessed

Comparison

Not assessed

Method

Not assessed

Return and payback

Not assessed

People and places

Participants

Developer: Center for Bionics and Pain Research (Chalmers University of Technology and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal) with Integrum AB; hand by Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and Prensilia SRL, under the EU DeTOP project. Operator: Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden (surgery led by Rickard Brånemark and Paolo Sassu).

Jurisdictions

Benefit: Mölndal, Sweden. Developer: Sweden. Operator: Sweden.

Ownership and control

Not assessed

Dependencies

Not assessed

Cross-border connections

Not assessed

Geopolitical implications

Not assessed

Follow-up

Conditions for replication

The fixtures must osseointegrate. Here the radial fixture failed, was removed after 5 months and reimplanted with a larger diameter. Implanted electrodes must stay within working range for years. One e-abutment screw broke after 3.5 years and was replaced. Outcomes are from one patient with no control group, so the effect size is not established beyond this case.

Replication attempts

Not assessed

Later findings

The October 2023 coverage reports more than three years of daily use up to publication; nothing dated after the paper was found.

Availability

Not assessed

Institutional decision

Not assessed

Grounds

Not assessed

Action and result

Not assessed

Success criterion

Not assessed

Evidence

Source numbers

AIBD-0121-source-0001–0008

Citations

Numbered references below.

Language

Not assessed

Source relationships

Developer, Independent

Original evidence

Not assessed

Access and versions

Not assessed

Supported findings

Not assessed

Evidence strength

Not assessed

Missing evidence

Not assessed

Grades

Assessed benefits

People.

Depth

People: 3.

Reasons

People: The paper reports phantom limb pain down from 5 to 3, stump pain from 6 to 0 and sleep interference gone. EQ-5D-5L is up from 0.23 to 0.63 and daily use tops three years. Karin says the research “has given me a better life” and that she needs much less medication. Life-changing for one identifiable person, from a single-patient study without a control group.

Observed or intended

Not assessed

Rubric

Not assessed

Assessor and date

Not assessed

Alternative assessments

Not assessed

Fill

Independently reported

Entry details

Kind

Not assessed

Field

Healthcare (upper-limb prosthetics and phantom limb pain). Academic clinical research, single-patient implementation.

Purpose

The prosthesis was built to give reliable control, feedback and attachment after amputation, with surgical reconstruction to add myoelectric sites and treat neuropathic pain. The reported function and pain outcomes were that purpose.

Dates

Date basis unassessed: 2023 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.

Stage

Not assessed

Version

SHA-256: fd19527eb4ed…

References

Other identifiers

oecd_aim: 2023-10-09-84b0.

Category mappings

Not assessed

Brief

Not assessed

Revisions

5 revisions. Latest: 21 October 2026.

Sources

  1. Peer-reviewed study Developer

    Ortiz-Catalan M., Zbinden J., Millenaar J., et al. (2023). A highly integrated bionic hand with neural control and feedback for use in daily life. Science Robotics 8(83): eadf7360. PMID 37820004. Co-authors include Integrum AB and Prensilia SRL staff; open-access manuscript at research.chalmers.se/publication/537965.

  2. News report Independent author

    Christensen J. / CNN via KEYT (2023). It's not Star Wars-level tech yet, but doctors get a step closer to a bionic hand with special surgery and AI. CNN Health; quotes an independent neurosurgeon, Jorge Gonzalez-Martinez of the University of Pittsburgh.

  3. News report Independent author

    Paul A. / Popular Science (2023). Titanium-fused bone tissue connects this bionic hand directly to a patient's nerves. Popular Science.

  4. News report Independent author

    Cara E. / Gizmodo (2023). Woman's Experimental Bionic Hand Passes Major Test With Flying Colors. Gizmodo.

  5. News report Independent author

    Thompson B. / New Atlas (2023). Groundbreaking bionic hand restores quality of life to amputee. New Atlas.

  6. News report Independent author

    ScienceAlert (2023). Revolutionary Bionic Hand Fuses With Woman's Bones, Muscles, And Nerves. ScienceAlert.

  7. Press release Developer

    Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies via Medical Xpress (2023). Bionic hand merges with user's nervous and skeletal systems. Institutional release reprinted by Medical Xpress.

  8. Press release Developer

    DeTOP project (2019). The first dexterous and sentient hand prosthesis has been successfully implanted. News item on the EU Horizon 2020 consortium site (coordinator Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna; partners include Integrum AB and Prensilia).