Until recently,
losing both arms in an accident would probably have meant the end of a
patient's two-fisted grip. Not so for Leslie Baugh, the first shoulder-level
double amputee to wear and control two complex, mind-controlled prosthetic
limbs. Baugh isn't the first person to control robotic limbs with his mind.
Some researchers are already working on giving amputee patients back their
sense of touch. But the technique is new enough that dual-control has never
been tried before. To prepare his body for the devices, Baugh underwent a
surgery called targeted muscle reinnervation.
Next, he trained
on a computer, working with virtual models as pattern recognition software
learned to apply signals from his brain to his intended movements. Then, Johns
Hopkins researchers fitted him with a personalized socket to hold the
prostheses to his body and translate his mental controls. When they attached the
robotic limbs, he performed a variety of two-handed tasks—becoming the first
person to ever manipulate two independent arms with his mind at the same time. In
the future, according to John Hopkins, he'll be able to take them home and use
them in his day-to-day life.
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