Dr. Brian Greenwald On the Band: Nerve-Shocking Armband Could Help Amateur Musicians Play Like Pros
An armband loaded with 28 tiny electrodes could help amateur guitarists learn to play like pros. The device, called PossessedHand, sends pulses of electricity through the skin and into the nerves that power the fingers. "As the flexor muscles of our hands contract, the extensor muscles relax, and all the other surrounding muscles tense or relax to support the movement," said Dr. Brian Greenwald, assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at New York City's Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Greenwald said he's surprised PossessedHand could stimulate individual nerves from outside the arm. "The skin wants to keep things out, and it does a good job of that. To overcome the electrical resistance in the skin, you would have to turn up the voltage you use." Learn more.