Medical Breakthrough Returns Sense Of Touch To Paralyzed Man
Researchers placed tiny electrodes in the sensory cortex of Nathan Copeland's brain, which allows the sense of touch to bypass his damaged spinal cord.
The Washington Post:
In A Medical First, Brain Implant Allows Paralyzed Man To Feel Again
For the first time, scientists have helped a paralyzed man experience the sense of touch in his mind-controlled robotic arm. For the cutting-edge experiment, a collaboration between the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, electrodes smaller than a grain of sand were implanted in the sensory cortex of the man's brain. The electrodes received signals from a robot arm. When a researcher pressed the fingers of the prosthesis, the man felt the pressure in the fingers of his paralyzed right hand, effectively bypassing his damaged spinal cord. (10/13)
NPR:
Brain Implant Restores Sense Of Touch To Paralyzed Man
Twelve years ago, a car wreck took away Nathan Copeland's ability to control his hands or sense what his fingers were touching. A few months ago, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center gave Copeland a new way to reach out and feel the world around him. It's a mind-controlled robotic arm that has pressure sensors in each fingertip that send signals directly to Copeland's brain. (Hamilton, 10/13)
