Grants Funded
ASPS/PSF leadership is committed to continuing to provide high levels of investigator-initiated research support to ensure that plastic surgeons have the needed research resources to be pioneers and innovators in advancing the practice of medicine.
Research Abstracts
Search The PSF database to have easy access to full-text grant abstracts from past PSF-funded research projects 2003 to present. All abstracts are the work of the Principal Investigators and were retrieved from their PSF grant applications. Several different filters may be applied to locate abstracts specific to a particular focus area or PSF funding mechanism.
Bidirectional Sensorimotor Prosthetic Control with a Composite Neural Interface
Principal Investigator
Ahneesh Mohanty MD
Ahneesh Mohanty MD
Year
2025
2025
Institution
University of Michigan Medical Center (Michigan Medicine)
University of Michigan Medical Center (Michigan Medicine)
Funding Mechanism
Research Fellowship
Research Fellowship
Focus Area
Peripheral Nerve, Hand or Upper Extremity
Peripheral Nerve, Hand or Upper Extremity
Abstract
Project Summary
Neuromuscular integrated prosthetic devices are often lauded as potentially life-changing for those living with upper extremity amputations. However, these devices typically produce disjointed, gross motor movements, as they lack the capability to integrate afferent sensory input to provide appropriate proprioception and tactile feedback which enables naturalistic motor control. Thus,
there is a critical need to understand how to provide prosthetic limbs with intuitive afferent somatosensory feedback essential for interaction with the environment while simultaneously providing efferent motor signals for prosthetic control. However, the design of the ideal prosthetic system relies on a reliable interface that can facilitate this bidirectional signaling. Therefore, the long-term goal of this research is to create an interface to restore natural limb movement and sensation following limb loss. The Composite Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interface (C-RPNI) was developed as a novel approach to address this challenge. The C-RPNI is created by surgically implanting the distal end of a transected peripheral nerve between an autogenous skeletal muscle and dermis graft. The central hypothesis of this study is that sensorimotor reinnervation of this composite graft will allow for the propagation of simultaneous efferent motor and afferent sensory signals to create physiologically relevant bidirectional signaling to restore naturalistic extremity function. Guided by promising animal and preliminary human data produced by our lab, we plan to evaluate this hypothesis by pursuing two specific aims: (1) characterization of muscle fatiguability of the C-RPNI and; (2) facilitating physiologic bidirectional signaling with the C-RPNI. For the first aim, we will investigate the fatiguability profile of C-RPNI motor signaling, and in the second aim, we will evaluate bidirectional physiologic signaling in a rodent model during volitional ambulation by using interleaving stimulation and recording windows to record motor action potentials while providing sensation in a physiologic state. Results from this study would provide vital pre-clinical data for translating the ability of the C-RPNI to restore naturalistic limb function in humans living with limb loss. Therefore, the C-RPNI holds great promise to improve the clinical outcomes, quality of life, and functionality for individuals living with major limb amputations.
Impact Statement
Extremity amputations affect nearly 1 in 190 Americans, with devastating functional morbidity. However, a prosthetic is yet to be developed with the potential to replicate the function of a native extremity. While prosthetic devices currently exist with advanced movement and sensory capabilities, there is a lack of a prosthetic-user interface to allow for simultaneous transmission of afferent somatosensory information with efferent motor signals resulting in naturalistic function. This leads to prosthetic abandonment due to cognitive burden. Therefore, the Composite Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interface (C-RPNI) is an impactful development with the potential to enable bi-directional sensorimotor signaling, allowing for naturalistic, close d-loop sensorimotor control of a neuroprosthetic.
Project Summary
Neuromuscular integrated prosthetic devices are often lauded as potentially life-changing for those living with upper extremity amputations. However, these devices typically produce disjointed, gross motor movements, as they lack the capability to integrate afferent sensory input to provide appropriate proprioception and tactile feedback which enables naturalistic motor control. Thus,
there is a critical need to understand how to provide prosthetic limbs with intuitive afferent somatosensory feedback essential for interaction with the environment while simultaneously providing efferent motor signals for prosthetic control. However, the design of the ideal prosthetic system relies on a reliable interface that can facilitate this bidirectional signaling. Therefore, the long-term goal of this research is to create an interface to restore natural limb movement and sensation following limb loss. The Composite Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interface (C-RPNI) was developed as a novel approach to address this challenge. The C-RPNI is created by surgically implanting the distal end of a transected peripheral nerve between an autogenous skeletal muscle and dermis graft. The central hypothesis of this study is that sensorimotor reinnervation of this composite graft will allow for the propagation of simultaneous efferent motor and afferent sensory signals to create physiologically relevant bidirectional signaling to restore naturalistic extremity function. Guided by promising animal and preliminary human data produced by our lab, we plan to evaluate this hypothesis by pursuing two specific aims: (1) characterization of muscle fatiguability of the C-RPNI and; (2) facilitating physiologic bidirectional signaling with the C-RPNI. For the first aim, we will investigate the fatiguability profile of C-RPNI motor signaling, and in the second aim, we will evaluate bidirectional physiologic signaling in a rodent model during volitional ambulation by using interleaving stimulation and recording windows to record motor action potentials while providing sensation in a physiologic state. Results from this study would provide vital pre-clinical data for translating the ability of the C-RPNI to restore naturalistic limb function in humans living with limb loss. Therefore, the C-RPNI holds great promise to improve the clinical outcomes, quality of life, and functionality for individuals living with major limb amputations.
Impact Statement
Extremity amputations affect nearly 1 in 190 Americans, with devastating functional morbidity. However, a prosthetic is yet to be developed with the potential to replicate the function of a native extremity. While prosthetic devices currently exist with advanced movement and sensory capabilities, there is a lack of a prosthetic-user interface to allow for simultaneous transmission of afferent somatosensory information with efferent motor signals resulting in naturalistic function. This leads to prosthetic abandonment due to cognitive burden. Therefore, the Composite Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interface (C-RPNI) is an impactful development with the potential to enable bi-directional sensorimotor signaling, allowing for naturalistic, close d-loop sensorimotor control of a neuroprosthetic.
Biography
Ahneesh Mohanty, MD completed his undergraduate education at the University of Texas at Dallas on a full-ride merit scholarship and graduated magna cum laude. He then obtained his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Texas Southwestern School of
Medicine, graduating as valedictorian of his class and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honors society. During this time, he won multiple awards for research, published multiple peer-reviewed articles in top journals, and presented at multiple national and international conferences. He is currently pursuing his residency training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Michigan and will be dedicating time out of his surgical training to further develop his research skills in the Neuromuscular Lab under the direction of Dr. Stephen Kemp and Dr. Paul Cederna. He is interested in utilizing his surgical and research training to provide innovative solutions and improve outcomes for patients living with devastating peripheral nerve injuries.
Ahneesh Mohanty, MD completed his undergraduate education at the University of Texas at Dallas on a full-ride merit scholarship and graduated magna cum laude. He then obtained his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Texas Southwestern School of
Medicine, graduating as valedictorian of his class and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honors society. During this time, he won multiple awards for research, published multiple peer-reviewed articles in top journals, and presented at multiple national and international conferences. He is currently pursuing his residency training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Michigan and will be dedicating time out of his surgical training to further develop his research skills in the Neuromuscular Lab under the direction of Dr. Stephen Kemp and Dr. Paul Cederna. He is interested in utilizing his surgical and research training to provide innovative solutions and improve outcomes for patients living with devastating peripheral nerve injuries.