Man controls robotic hand with his mind

A ROBOTIC hand has been successfully connected to an amputee, allowing him to feel sensations in the artificial limb and control it with his thoughts, European scientists said yesterday.

The experiment lasted a month, and the scientists say it was the first time a patient has been able to make complex movements using his mind to control a biomechanic hand connected to his nervous system.

The Italian-led team said that last year it implanted electrodes into the arm of the patient who had lost his left hand and forearm in a car accident. The prosthetic was not implanted on the patient, only connected through the electrodes. During a Rome news conference, video was shown of 26-year-old Pierpaolo Petruzziello as he concentrated to give orders to the hand placed next to him.