Mind-controlled robotic arm gives sense of sensation to paralysed man

Nathan Copeland, a 28-year-old resident of western Pennsylvania, was injured in 2004 but in the spring of 2015 had four microelectrode arrays implanted into his brain by neurosurgeon Elizabeth Tyler-Kabara.

Following surgery, Copeland was connected to a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).

In a study published online in Science Translational Medicine, a team led by Robert Gaunt, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Pitt, demonstrated for the first time in humans a technology that allows Copeland to experience the sensation of touch through the robotic arm.

"The most important result in this study is that microstimulation of sensory cortex can elicit natural sensation instead of tingling," said study co-author Andrew B. Schwartz, Ph.D., distinguished professor of neurobiology and chair in systems neuroscience, Pitt School of Medicine, and a member of the University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute. "This stimulation is safe, and the evoked sensations are stable over months. There is still a lot of research that needs to be carried out to better understand the stimulation patterns needed to help patients make better movements."