Major Progress in Health Through Technology

january 18, 2013

Jan Scheuermann, who has quadriplegia, brings a chocolate bar to her mouth using a robot arm she is guiding with her thoughts. Researcher Elke Brown, M.D., watches in the background. Click the photo to download it in high resolution, Photo credit: "UPMC"

From VOA Learning English, this is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in Special English. I’m Bob Doughty.

And I’m Faith Lapidus. Today, we tell about a woman who can use signals from her brain to move a robotic arm. We tell about efforts to develop an experimental gene treatment for patients with heart disease. And we explain how American computers are helping medical workers in Zimbabwe study the condition of their patients.

A woman paralyzed from the neck down has learned to use her thoughts to control a specially-designed motorized arm. The arm is the product of years of research on mind-controlled artificial limbs.

Researchers in the American state of Pennsylvania say the motorized arm is the most advanced mind-controlled prosthetic, or replacement limb ever made. They created the device to help return some muscle control to Jan Scheuermann. She is suffering from a degenerative neuromuscular disease that paralyzed her from the neck down. She has no control of her arms and legs.

The motorized right arm has a five-fingered, fully-jointed hand. It enables Ms. Scheuermann to pick up and hold objects, and feed herself.