Explore Topics:
AIBiotechnologyRoboticsComputingFutureScienceSpaceEnergyTech
Robotics

Bionic Arm Controlled By Patient’s Own Thoughts

SingularityHub Staff
Feb 13, 2009

Share

Last year we reported about the latest efforts to create the next generation in prosthetic arms.  Without a doubt the most exciting feature being developed for this new generation of arms is their ability to interface directly with the patient's brain, allowing the patients to operate the arm simply by thinking.  Today the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) has announced that it has made significant progress in making these brain controlled prosthetic arms a reality.

The major advance behind these prosthetic arms is a surgical procedure called Targeted Muscle Reinnervation (TMR) that reassigns the nerves that once controlled the patient's arm and hand to the patient's pectoral muscles.  Hand and arm signals from the patients brain can then travel into the pectoral muscle and be fed into a computer, which converts the signals into inputs for the prosthetic arm.  This transfer of brain intentions into signals that can control a robotic device is known as Brain Computer Interfacing, or BCI.

Creating the ultimate prosthetic arm is a daunting challenge, requiring an interdisciplinary collaboration across many fields to achieve success.  The BCI advances used in this prosthetic arm would be useless without accompanying advances in robotic arm agility and function present in the project's DEKA robotic arm.  We reported on the DEKA arm last year.

Be Part of the Future

Sign up to receive top stories about groundbreaking technologies and visionary thinkers from SingularityHub.

100% Free. No Spam. Unsubscribe any time.

See the prosthetic arm in action in the video below.  Remember, this arm is being completely controlled by the patient's thoughts.  Note the electrodes on the pectoral muscle where the brain's signals have been surgically re-routed for capture:

SingularityHub chronicles the technological frontier with coverage of the breakthroughs, players, and issues shaping the future.

Related Articles

An autonomous drone, called SUPER, from the University of Hong Kong hovers in the air

This Autonomous Drone Can Track Humans Through Dense Forests at High Speed

Edd Gent
MIT’s Latest Bug Robot Is a Super Flyer. It Could One Day Help Bees Pollinate Crops.

MIT’s Latest Bug Robot Is a Super Flyer. It Could One Day Help Bees Pollinate Crops.

Edd Gent
A digital render of a human or robot with prismatic rainbows.

A ChatGPT Moment Is Coming for Robotics. AI World Models Could Help Make It Happen.

Aaron Frank
An autonomous drone, called SUPER, from the University of Hong Kong hovers in the air
Robotics

This Autonomous Drone Can Track Humans Through Dense Forests at High Speed

Edd Gent
MIT’s Latest Bug Robot Is a Super Flyer. It Could One Day Help Bees Pollinate Crops.
Robotics

MIT’s Latest Bug Robot Is a Super Flyer. It Could One Day Help Bees Pollinate Crops.

Edd Gent
A digital render of a human or robot with prismatic rainbows.
Robotics

A ChatGPT Moment Is Coming for Robotics. AI World Models Could Help Make It Happen.

Aaron Frank

What we’re reading

Be Part of the Future

Sign up to receive top stories about groundbreaking technologies and visionary thinkers from SingularityHub.

100% Free. No Spam. Unsubscribe any time.

SingularityHub chronicles the technological frontier with coverage of the breakthroughs, players, and issues shaping the future.

Follow Us On Social

About

  • About Hub
  • About Singularity

Get in Touch

  • Contact Us
  • Pitch Us
  • Brand Partnerships

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
© 2025 Singularity