Patent ID: 7302296

Claim:
A prosthetic system for a patient having a limb stump, comprising: a prosthetic limb that is attachable to the patient's limb stump, the prosthetic limb including a plurality of sensors that produce sensory signals; a signal generator for producing electrical stimulation signals to stimulate one or more selected sensory nerve fibers of a severed limb nerve, the electrical stimulation signals approximating a pattern of sensations that would be received from a normal, innervated limb before it was amputated; a microprocessor that receives the sensory signals and is programmed to cause the signal generator to produce the electrical stimulation signals and to deliver the electrical stimulation signals to the one or more selected sensory nerve fibers in order to provide sensations to the patient that appear to arrive from the prosthetic limb, wherein the selection of the one or more sensory nerve fibers is based on feedback from the patient regarding which sensory nerve fibers correspond to which of the plurality of sensors, the microprocessor being programmed to cause the signal generator to produce electrical stimulation signals in the absence of sensory signals produced by the plurality of sensors in order to alleviate phantom limb pain; means for transmitting the sensory signals from the plurality of sensors to the microprocessor; and means for transmitting the electrical stimulation signals to the selected sensory nerve fibers; wherein the means for transmitting the electrical stimulation signals to the selected sensory nerve fibers includes a plurality of electrodes adapted for implantation in close proximity to the severed limb nerve and wherein each electrode is in close proximity to different sensory nerve fibers of the severed limb nerve.