Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers and European scientists have succeeded in wiring an artificial hand to the existing nerve endings in the stump of a person with a severed arm. The bionic hand, called the SmartHand, resembles a real hand in function, sensitivity, and appearance. It features four electric motors and 40 sensors to replicate the movement of a human hand and provide a sensation of feeling and touch. The project's first human subject has been able to perform complicated tasks such as eating and writing, and says he has been able to "feel" his fingers once again. TAU researchers developed the interface between the body's nerves and the device's electronics. "Perfectly good nerve endings remain at the stem of a severed limb," says TAU professor Yosi Shacham-Diamand. "Our team is building the interface between the device and the nerves in the arm, connecting cognitive neuroscience with state-of-the-art information technologies." He says the challenge was to make an electrode that was not only flexible but that could be implanted in the human body and function properly for at least 20 years. After only a few training sessions, the human subject is operating the artificial hand as if it was his own, Shacham-Diamand says. The researchers say the same technology could be used to build a bionic leg. They say the SmartHand prototype currently looks very "bionic," but future versions could have artificial skin that will look human and provide the brain with even more tactile feedback.