This paper relates to the design of neural prostheses to restore motor functions, that is of artificial and/or externally controlled human extremities. Development of these neural prostheses depends partly on the availability of adequate sensors and actuators. The specific nature of the application imposes several limitations when selecting sensors and actuators. Most of limitations are related to the size, weight, power consumption, invasivity, reliability, stability, and reproducibility of the system. In order to explain the requirements of a motor neural prosthesis the very nature of biological sensors and actuators has been analyzed. Characteristics of biological sensors and actuators are discussed in the first part of the paper, while the second and third part deal with presently available artificial systems. A specific emphasis is on possible uses of biological transducers and real time processing of the information recorded from peripheral nerves.
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