Using Bionics to Restore Sensation to Reconstructed Breasts
Mastectomy often leads to a complete desensitization of the chest, which in turn can give rise to diminished sexual function and to disembodiment of the breasts. One approach to mitigate the sensory consequences of mastectomy is to leverage technology that has been developed for the restoration of s...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neurorobotics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbot.2020.00024/full |
| _version_ | 1818067048230551552 |
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| author | Stacy T. Lindau Sliman J. Bensmaia Sliman J. Bensmaia |
| author_facet | Stacy T. Lindau Sliman J. Bensmaia Sliman J. Bensmaia |
| author_sort | Stacy T. Lindau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mastectomy often leads to a complete desensitization of the chest, which in turn can give rise to diminished sexual function and to disembodiment of the breasts. One approach to mitigate the sensory consequences of mastectomy is to leverage technology that has been developed for the restoration of sensation in bionic hands. Specifically, sensors embedded under the skin of the nipple-areolar complex can be used to detect touches. The output of the sensors then drives electrical stimulation of the residual intercostal nerves, delivered through chronically implanted electrode arrays, thereby eliciting tactile sensations experienced on the nipple–areolar complex. The hope is that the bionic breast will restore a woman’s sense that her breast belongs to her body so she can experience the pleasure of an embrace and derive the benefit of the sensual touch of her partner. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T15:17:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2881fad08dd04fbc8365f3c068d361b0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5218 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T15:17:29Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neurorobotics |
| spelling | doaj.art-2881fad08dd04fbc8365f3c068d361b02022-12-22T01:43:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurorobotics1662-52182020-05-011410.3389/fnbot.2020.00024529055Using Bionics to Restore Sensation to Reconstructed BreastsStacy T. Lindau0Sliman J. Bensmaia1Sliman J. Bensmaia2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medicine-Geriatrics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United StatesDepartment of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United StatesGrossman Institute for Neuroscience, Quantitative Biology, and Human Behavior, Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United StatesMastectomy often leads to a complete desensitization of the chest, which in turn can give rise to diminished sexual function and to disembodiment of the breasts. One approach to mitigate the sensory consequences of mastectomy is to leverage technology that has been developed for the restoration of sensation in bionic hands. Specifically, sensors embedded under the skin of the nipple-areolar complex can be used to detect touches. The output of the sensors then drives electrical stimulation of the residual intercostal nerves, delivered through chronically implanted electrode arrays, thereby eliciting tactile sensations experienced on the nipple–areolar complex. The hope is that the bionic breast will restore a woman’s sense that her breast belongs to her body so she can experience the pleasure of an embrace and derive the benefit of the sensual touch of her partner.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbot.2020.00024/fullembodimenttactile feedbackbionicsbreastmastectomysensation |
| spellingShingle | Stacy T. Lindau Sliman J. Bensmaia Sliman J. Bensmaia Using Bionics to Restore Sensation to Reconstructed Breasts Frontiers in Neurorobotics embodiment tactile feedback bionics breast mastectomy sensation |
| title | Using Bionics to Restore Sensation to Reconstructed Breasts |
| title_full | Using Bionics to Restore Sensation to Reconstructed Breasts |
| title_fullStr | Using Bionics to Restore Sensation to Reconstructed Breasts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using Bionics to Restore Sensation to Reconstructed Breasts |
| title_short | Using Bionics to Restore Sensation to Reconstructed Breasts |
| title_sort | using bionics to restore sensation to reconstructed breasts |
| topic | embodiment tactile feedback bionics breast mastectomy sensation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbot.2020.00024/full |
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