Robot Feeling

European scientists have successfully connected a touch sensitive prosthetic hand to an amputee which he is able to control using thought. “The experiment lasted a month, and scientists say it was the first time a patient has been able to make complex movements using his mind to control a biomechanic hand connected to his nervous system. The Italian-led team said at a news conference Wednesday in Rome that last year it implanted electrodes into the arm of the patient who had lost his left hand and forearm in a car accident. The prosthetic was not implanted on the patient, only connected through the electrodes. During the news conference, video was shown of 26-year-old Pierpaolo Petruzziello as he concentrated to give orders to the hand placed next to him. ‘It’s a matter of mind, of concentration,’ Petruzziello said. ‘When you think of it as your hand and forearm, it all becomes easier.’”