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Man Controls Robotic Hand with Mind |
- Photo courtesy of Bio-Medical Campus University of Rome
In early December of 2009, a robotic hand was successfully connected
by electrodes to an amputee that allowed him to control the prosthesis
with his thoughts and allow him to feel sensations. This is the first
time a patient has been able to make complex movements using his mind.
 Over a year ago the team in Rome implanted the electrodes into the arm of Pierpaolo Petruzziello, who had lost his lower arm in an auto accident. "It's a matter of mind, of concentration," Petruzziello said. "When you think of it as your hand and forearm, it all becomes easier."
Petruzziello learned to wiggle his robotic finger, make a fist, grab objects and make other movements. He said the feedback he got from the hand was amazingly accurate. "It felt almost the same as a real hand. They stimulated me a lot, even with needles ... you can't imagine what they did to me."
It will take at least two or three years before scientists try to replicate the experiment with a more long-term prosthesis. Results from the experiment are encouraging, as the electrodes removed from Petruzziello showed no damage and could have stayed in longer. More must also be done to miniaturize the technology on the arm and the bulky machines that translate neural and digital signals between the robot and the patient.
WASHINGTON POST
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