Exploring Osseoperception at the Wrist: Towards an Augmented Sensory Feedback Interface

Regaining impaired sensorimotor functions is still an open challenge. Osseoperception has emerged as a potential sensory feedback modality. However, this phenomenon has been little explored upon stimulation of the distal bones in the upper limb. This study aimed to preliminarily explore osseoperception by applying vibratory stimuli at different frequencies to the pisiform bone at the wrist of four healthy participants. The lowest perception threshold (0.006 ± 0.002 N) was found at 200 Hz and the highest (0.50 ± 0.26 N) at 1500 Hz, frequencies similar to those reported in previous studies on invasive stimulation. This first insight highlights the wrist as a potential point to evoke osseoperception, which could be used to deliver augmented sensory feedback to people with neuromotor impairments.