Will Future Prostheses Have Human Parts?

The researchers at University of Tokyo and Waseda University used thin strings of lab-grown muscle tissue bundled into rolls to give the fingers enough strength to contract. The multiple muscle tissue actuators (MuMuTAs) are a major development towards biohybrid limbs.

“Our key achievement was developing the MuMuTAs. These are thin strands of muscle tissue grown in a culture medium and then rolled up into a bundle like a sushi roll to make each tendon,” said Shoji Takeuchi, PhD, from the University of Tokyo. “Creating the MuMuTAs enabled us to overcome our biggest challenge, which was to ensure enough contractile force and length in the muscles to drive the hand’s large structure.”