A team from Vienna Medical University in Austria and Imperial College London in the UK has developed a new method that can accurately capture and decode the "hidden" neural signals in the residual limbs of upper arm amputees, and convert them into precise motion instructions for bionic prostheses. This achievement was recently published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, paving the way for the development of the next generation of more intelligent and intuitive bionic prostheses. The team implanted a new 40 channel microelectrode array into three volunteers who had their upper limbs amputated. These electrodes are implanted into muscles that have undergone targeted muscle innervation (TMR) surgery. TMR surgery creates a new biological interface by reconnecting the remaining arm nerves after amputation to the remaining muscles of the upper arm, allowing the nerve signals originally used to control the hand and arm to be detected during muscle contractions. By combining TMR surgery with high-density implantable microelectrodes, the team has achieved direct measurement of individual motor neuron activity for the first time. These neurons are located in the spinal cord and are responsible for transmitting motor commands from the brain to the muscles. In the experiment, participants were asked to imagine using their "phantom hands" to perform various actions in their minds, such as stretching their fingers or bending their wrists. Researchers synchronously record the neural signals captured by electrodes and match them with specific motor intentions. The analysis results show that even after years of amputation, the complex motor commands emitted by the brain are still intact in the nervous system, and these fine signals can be effectively decoded and reconstructed through mathematical algorithms. This breakthrough means that future bionic prostheses will no longer rely on simple muscle contraction patterns for rough control, but will be able to respond to users' more refined and natural movement intentions. The current research results have also laid the foundation for the development of the next generation of wireless implantable devices. This type of device is expected to achieve direct and real-time wireless transmission of neural signals to bionic hands or other assistive systems in the future, ultimately helping amputees restore limb function close to nature. (New Society)