Scientists Create a Robotic Arm that Moves by Thought Alone

The field of prosthetics is moving forward by leaps and bounds and now, researchers have created robotic arms that move by mere thought. Erik G. Sorto, a man paralyzed from the neck down after receiving gunshot wound when he was 21, is the first person in the world to have a neural prosthetic devices implanted in a region of the brain where intentions are made.

Neural prosthetic devices implanted in the brain's movement enter, the motor cortex, can allow paralyzed patients to control the movement of a robotic limb. However, current neuroprosthetics produce motion that's delayed and jerky rather than the smooth and seemingly automatic gestures associated with natural movement. Now, by implanting neuroprosthetics in a part of the brain that controls not the movement directly but rather our intent to move, scientists have created way to produce more natural movement.

The researchers actually recorded signals from a different brain region other than the motor cortex, a place called the posterior parietal cortex (PPC). Here, in the PCC, is where the initial intent to make a movement is formed. These intentions are then transmitted to the motor cortex to the spinal cord and to arms and legs.

"The PPC is earlier in the pathway, so signals there are more related to movement planning-what you actually intend to do-rather than the details of the movement execution," said Richard Andersen, one of the researchers, in a news release. "When you move your arm, you really don't think about which muscles to activate and the details of the movement-such as lift the arm, extend the arm, grasp the cup, close the hand around the cup and so on. Instead, you think about the goal of the movement,  for example, 'I want to pick up that cup of water.' So in this trial, we were successfully able to decode these actual intents, by asking the subject to simply imagine the movement as a whole, rather than breaking it down into a myriad of components."

The new device was implanted in Sorto's brain in April 2013. Since then, he's been training with researchers to control a computer cursor and robotic arm with his mind. In the end, Sorto managed intuitive movement with the arm.

The new device could be huge for those with disabilities, such as amputees and those who are paralyzed. Scientists may be able to create working limbs that could help these people navigate daily life.

The findings are published in the journal Science.

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