--- title: New Technology Allows Amputee to Feel Objects with Artificial Hand description: European researchers have created what they believe is the first hand prosthetic implant that would allow amputees to regain the sense of touch. The research... canonical: https://time.com/5390/new-technology-allows-amputee-to-feel-objects-with-artificial-hand/ author: Francesca Trianni article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-06T19:10:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:19:58.434Z article:section: Health og:title: New Technology Allows Amputee to Feel Objects with Artificial Hand og:description: European researchers have created what they believe is the first hand prosthetic implant that would allow amputees to regain the sense of touch. The research... og:url: https://time.com/5390/new-technology-allows-amputee-to-feel-objects-with-artificial-hand/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt957d9598f105175a/69868203f983e70b3604c5ca/amputee.png?branch=production&width=633&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 633 og:image:height: 356 og:image:alt: New Technology Allows Amputee to Feel Objects with Artificial Hand og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New Technology Allows Amputee to Feel Objects with Artificial Hand twitter:description: European researchers have created what they believe is the first hand prosthetic implant that would allow amputees to regain the sense of touch. The research... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt957d9598f105175a/69868203f983e70b3604c5ca/amputee.png?branch=production&width=633&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # New Technology Allows Amputee to Feel Objects with Artificial Hand > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Francesca Trianni](https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/)  ## Francesca Trianni Feb 6, 2014 7:10 PM UTC  For the first time, a loop has been created that allows the robotic hand to rapidly communicate with the patient’s brain so he could feel. For the first time, a loop has been created that allows the robotic hand to rapidly communicate with the patient’s brain so he could feel. EFPL News  by [Francesca Trianni](https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/)  ## Francesca Trianni Feb 6, 2014 7:10 PM UTC European researchers have created what they believe is the first hand prosthetic implant that would allow amputees to regain the sense of touch. The research teams behind the bionic hand—cooperation of the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EFPL) in Switzerland and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA)—created a loop that allowed the robotic hand to rapidly communicate with the patient’s brain so he could feel and react in real time, [the Associated Press reports. ](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FMED%5FHEALTHBEAT%5FBIONIC%5FHAND?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT) Dennis Aabo Sorensen, a 36-year-old in Denmark, lost his left hand in a fireworks accident and volunteered to test the implant. For just one week—the duration of the trial—he was able to feel real-time sensations that he hadn’t felt in almost a decade. Sorensen could touch different objects, from a mandarin orange to some cotton, and intuitively tell if they were hard or soft, slim or round, and adjust his grasp depending on their feel. “It was just amazing,” he [told](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FMED%5FHEALTHBEAT%5FBIONIC%5FHAND?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT) the AP. “It was the closest I have had to feeling like a normal hand.” In recent years scientists have made great strides in the development of prosthetic limbs for amputees, but they’ve hit obstacles when trying to recreate the sensory feedback channel behind the sense of touch. While it will take years of additional research before an artificial hand that feels becomes a reality, the work behind this robotic hand is part of a major effort to create more usable prosthetics. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5390/new-technology-allows-amputee-to-feel-objects-with-artificial-hand/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5390/new-technology-allows-amputee-to-feel-objects-with-artificial-hand/"},"headline":"New Technology Allows Amputee to Feel Objects with Artificial Hand","datePublished":"2014-02-06T19:10:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:19:58.434Z","description":"European researchers have created what they believe is the first hand prosthetic implant that would allow amputees to regain the sense of touch. 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