A quadriplegic man with minimal movement and feeling in his limbs fed himself for the first time in 30 years – and he did so using his mind.
Robert Buz Chmielewski was involved in surfing accident as a teen, but in 2019 he underwent a 10-hour surgery to have six electrodes implanted into his brain to control a pair of robotic arms.
Working with John Hopkins Medicine (JHM), Chmielewski is now able to operate both prosthetic arms and manipulate them to perform separate tasks, like feeding himself a Twinkie. It s pretty cool, said Chmielewski, whose sense of accomplishment was unmistakable after using his thoughts to command the robotic limbs to cut and feed him a piece of golden sponge cake.
Quadriplegic patient uses brain signals to feed himself with two advanced prosthetic arms
System merging artificial intelligence, robotics, and a brain-machine interface represents major step toward restoring function and autonomy for patients without the full use of their limbs
Credit: Johns Hopkins APL Dec 28, 2020
For more than 30 years following an accident in his teens Robert Buz Chmielewski has been a quadriplegic with minimal movement and feeling in his hands and fingers. But last month he was able to manipulate two prosthetic arms with his brain and feed himself dessert.
Buz s accomplishment marks a big step toward restoring function and autonomy for patients affected by an illness or injury that results in the partial or total loss of use of all four limbs and torso.