Paralyzed Woman Moves Robotic Arm With Her Thoughts

Paralyzed Woman Moves Robotic Arm With Her Thoughts

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A paralyzed Massachusetts woman picked up a bottle of coffee and sipped from it by moving a robotic arm with her thoughts — the latest advance in the race to restore movement to people who have lost control of their muscles.

The moment marked the first time in 15 years the 58-year-old, who had suffered a stroke, was able to pick up anything of her own volition. Researchers called the advance the first demonstration of reaching and grasping by a brain-controlled prosthetic arm. In recent years, other paralyzed patients have high-fived with a different robotic arm and moved a cursor around a computer screen simply by thinking about it. While the scientists involved cautioned that it will be years before such devices will be widely available, they hailed the advance as a milestone.