17 Dec 2012

Robotic prosthesis breakthrough

9:41 pm on 17 December 2012

Scientists in Pennsylvania say they have created a robot hand that is the most advanced brain-controlled prosthetic limb ever made.

The team at the University of Pittsburgh in the United States implanted two microelectrode arrays into the left motor cortex of a 52-year-old woman paralysed from the neck down.

The woman was unable to move her arms and legs due to a condition called spinocerebellar degeneration.

Two weeks after the operation, the prosthesis was connected and she undertook 14 weeks of training - but on just the second day, was able to move the limb through mind power.

The researchers now hope to build senses into the arm, so the patient can feel the texture and temperature of what they are handling.

The findings have been reported in The Lancet.