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October 18, 2011

Brain linked to robotic hand; success hailed

When it happened, emotions flashed like lightning.

 

The nearby robotic hand that Tim Hemmes was controlling with his mind touched his girlfriend Katie Schaffer's outstretched hand.

 

One small touch Mr. Hemmes; one giant reach for people with disabilities.

 

Tears of joy flowing in an Oakland laboratory that day continued later when Mr. Hemmes toasted his and University of Pittsburgh researchers' success at a local restaurant with two daiquiris.

 

A simple act for most people proved to be a major advance in two decades of research that has proven to be the stuff of science fiction.

 

Mr. Hemmes' success in putting the robotic hand in the waiting hand of Ms. Schaffer, 27, of Philadelphia, represented the first time a person with quadriplegia has used his mind to control a robotic arm so masterfully.

 

The 30-year-old man from Connoquenessing Township, Butler County, hadn't moved his arms, hands or legs since a motorcycle accident seven years earlier.  But Mr. Hemmes had practiced six hours a day, six days a week for nearly a month to move the arm with his mind.

 

To read the entire article visit the following website.

 

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