Material surface detection on various body parts: a preliminary study for temperature substitution for upper arm amputees

Experiments have shown that healthy subjects can detect materials solely relying on the material's thermal properties at their fingertip. We are interested in developing a non-invasive temperature display for sensory substitution for patients with arm amputation, that could reproduce the signature temperature drop of different materials. In a group of healthy subjects, we investigate the best placement of such a device and the ability to discriminate objects' materials on the upper arm and the mid-abdomen in comparison to the fingertip. Our experiments show that the discrimination rates for all three locations are above chance level, with scores in the abdomen even higher than for the fingertip. We discuss how these findings can help to develop a sensory substitution device for temperature feedback for amputees.