A team of scientists at France's CNRS research center have created a new prototype prosthesis based on the way that amputees contract their muscles to use their "phantom limbs."

The majority of amputees experience sensations where their amputated limb used to be, a peculiar phenomenon dubbed the "phantom limb." 

Around 75 per cent of amputees can voluntarily exhibit mobility of their phantom limb. In other words, they are able to reproduce muscle contractions that would allow them to move the missing limb. 

In the upper body, amputees make phantom movements, such as moving fingers or wrists, by means of specific muscle contractions in the stump. When amputated above the elbow, these contractions concern muscle groups that are not connected with the joints used before the amputation.

Researchers at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) used these observations as the basis for a new prototype prosthesis using the phantom limb phenomenon to control an artificial limb. They studied the muscle contractions involved in mobilizing the phantom limb and developed algorithms capable of reproducing the detected movements to control the prosthesis intuitively.

The prosthesis was tested by two transhumeral amputees, whose arms had been amputated above the elbow. After a few minutes of familiarization, they were able to carry out the tasks requested.

The idea of the phantom limb is often attributed to mourning for the lost limb. This research shows that it is important to break taboos surrounding phantom limbs, as the phenomenon can help science advance in order to improve mobility for amputees.