Austrian researchers have created what’s being described as the world's first artificial leg capable of simulating the feelings of a real limb and fighting phantom pain.

The innovation, developed by Hubert Egger at the University of Linz in northern Austria, involves rewiring the remaining foot nerve endings from a patient's stump to healthy tissue in the thigh, placing them close to the skin surface, Medical Xpress reports.

Six sensors fitted to the foot sole of a lightweight prosthesis are then linked to stimulators inside the shaft where the stump sits.

"In a healthy foot, skin receptors carry out this function but they are obviously missing here. However, the information conductors — the nerves — are still present, they're just not being stimulated," Egger said.

"The sensors tell the brain there is a foot and the wearer has the impression that it rolls off the ground when he walks. All things considered, the procedure is a very simple one given the results."