Health

Incredible success!
by Barbora Misakova

Imagine you have only one hand or leg. Your movement and activities are limited and there is nothing you could do with it. You just have to get used to it, adapt to it. The basic activities such as getting dressed or washing are more complicated than before. You have to rely on help of others, and that is probably even worse than the fact there is only one hand remained. However there is some good news which is a result of years of scientific attempts. Robotic hand which can be controlled with thoughts! Pierpaolo Petruzziello, 26-year-old Italian who lost his left forearm in a car crash was linked to a robotic hand and this connecting was successful! Robotic hand was easily! controlled even it was not attached to his body. The prosthetic was not implanted on the patient, only connected through the electrodes. But the results are overwhelming anyway! During one month Pierpaolo could wiggle robotic fingers, make a fist or grab objects. European scientists leading this project said this was the first time a patient had been able to make such complex movements by using his own mind! “Some of the gestures cannot be disclosed because they were quite vulgar,” joked Paolo Maria Rossini, a neurologist who led the team. And there is really a reason for joking and joy! The investment of 2 million Euro from the European Union was really worth it. Patient was able to master use of the robotic hand in a few days and at the end of a month the hand obeyed the commands it received from the man’s brain in 95 percent of cases! That is incredible success and really great news for everyone who has similar handicap. But there are still some challe! nges for scientists and the new one is to create a system whic! h will c onnect a patient’s nervous system and a prosthetic limb for years, not just a month.

related story (sgx16054): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091202/ap_on_sc/eu_italy_roboti...

by Barbora Misakova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.

posted by Blog TechSource @ 12:14 PM