LIFE Published October8, 2014 By Staff Reporter

Man With Mind-Controlled Prosthetic Arm Goes Back To Work

(Photo : wikipedia.org)

Incredible story: A man goes back to work as a truck driver after being fitted with the world's first mind-controlled prosthetic arm.

The 42-year-old from Sweden, who is only identified as 'Magnus', was fitted with the device in January 2013. This test has proved to be as a success as the prosthetic arm connects electrodes to his own nerves, according to Telegraph.

It was 10 years ago when his arm was amputated because of a tumor. Over 10 years later, Magnus can now flex his fingers, catch balls and operate a petrol pump at work, according to the report.

The technique is called 'osseointegration' and works by connecting the prosthesis directly to his bone, nerves and muscles, according to Telegraph.

"Going beyond the lab to allow the patient to face real-world challenges is the main contribution of this work," Max Ortiz Catalan, research scientist at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenberg, Sweden said in the Journal Science Translation Medicine publication.

"We have used osseointegration to create a long-term stable fusion between man and machine.

"We see this technology as an important step towards more natural control of artificial limbs

"It is the missing link for allowing sophisticated neural interfaces to control sophisticated prostheses. So far, this has only been possible in short experiments within controlled environments."

The system, which is limited to the lab at this point, uses electrical stimulation to give the sense of feeling.

"The work reactivates areas of the brain that produce the sense of touch, "said Dustin Tyler, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University in the US. and director of the research.

"The sense of touch is one of the ways we interact with objects around us.

"Our goal is not just to restore function, but to build a reconnection to the world."

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