(December 16, 2012) Reaching out to “high five” someone, grasping
and moving objects of different shapes and sizes, feeding herself dark
chocolate. For Jan Scheuermann and a team of researchers from the University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC, accomplishing these seemingly ordinary
tasks demonstrated for the first time that a person with longstanding
quadriplegia can maneuver a mind-controlled, human-like robot arm in seven
dimensions (7D) to consistently perform many of the natural and complex motions
of everyday life.
In a study published in the
online version of The Lancet, the researchers described the brain-computer
interface (BCI) technology and training programs that allowed Ms. Scheuermann,
53, of Whitehall Borough in Pittsburgh, Pa. to intentionally move an arm, turn
and bend a wrist, and close a hand for the first time in nine years.
Less than a year after she told
the research team, “I’m going to feed myself chocolate before this is over,”
Ms. Scheuermann savored its taste and announced as they applauded her feat,
“One small nibble for a woman, one giant bite for BCI.”