Tactile sensations, Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, Sensory areas, Feedback
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,"/> Tactile sensations, Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, Sensory areas, Feedback,"/> Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation at Proximal Brachial Plexus to Evoke Tactile Sensation in the Hand

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Journal of Bionic Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 23 ›› Issue (1): 291-301.doi: 10.1007/s42235-025-00810-9

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Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation at Proximal Brachial Plexus to Evoke Tactile Sensation in the Hand

Lizhi Pan1,2, Jiapeng Lun1,2, Zhihao Ren1,2, Haifeng Zhao3,4, Ruinan Mu3, Jianmin Li1,2   

  1. 1 The Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and EquipmentDesign of Ministry of Education, School of MechanicalEngineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
    2 The Institute of Medical Robotics and Intelligent Systems,Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
    3 Key Laboratory of Space Utilization, Technology andEngineering Center for Space Utilization, Chinese Academyof Sciences, Beijing 100094, China 4 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, University ofChinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Online:2026-02-15 Published:2026-03-17
  • Contact: Jianmin Li1,2 E-mail:mjli@tju.edu.cn
  • About author:Lizhi Pan1,2, Jiapeng Lun1,2, Zhihao Ren1,2, Haifeng Zhao3,4, Ruinan Mu3, Jianmin Li1,2

Abstract: Tactile feedback is critical for human interaction with external information. Similarly, tactile feedback can enrich theuser’s sensations when using prosthesis. To explore a potential scheme for tactile feedback, this study applied a non-invasive Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) to elicit tactile sensations in the hand, which involved mediannerve, ulnar nerve, and radial nerve. Ten able-bodied subjects (8 males, 2 females) were recruited to participate in thestudy. An array of 4 × 2 electrodes was positioned on the medial aspect of the brachii muscle’s short head in the upperarm, which is in proximity to the median nerve, ulnar nerve, and radial nerve. Different electrode pairs were randomlyselected to elicit distinct sensations at various positions on the hand, and the subjects reported the sensory areas. Then,the sensory areas and sensory thresholds were confirmed through psychophysical methods. According to the experimentalresults, tactile sensations were elicited at different locations on the subjects’ hand through TENS of different electrodepairs. All subjects reported extensive and detailed sensory areas in the fingers, palm, and dorsum, corresponding to thesensory innervation areas of different nerves. The study effectively demonstrated the ability of TENS in evoking tactilefeedback in the hand, paving the way for future optimization and development of prosthetic hands.

Key words: Tactile sensations, Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, Sensory areas, Feedback')">Tactile sensations, Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, Sensory areas, Feedback