Robert “Buz” Chmielewski, a quadriplegic man who suffered an accident in his teens that left him with minimal movement and feeling in his hands, recently fed himself dessert with the aid of two prosthetic robot arms he was able to control using his mind.
Two years ago, Chmielewski underwent a 10-hour brain surgery at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital. This was part of a clinical trial designed to allow participants to control assistive devices using neuro signals. As part of the procedure, he had six electrode arrays implanted into both sides of his brain. This has now allowed Chmielewski to be able to control smart prostheses, such as these robot limbs, to carry out tasks like feeding himself.
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