In what can be hailed as a medical breakthrough, an Italian man who lost his left forearm in a traffic accident was outfitted with a prosthetic robotic arm, with which he is now able to feel the sensations in his robo arm and is now able to control the arm entirely with his cerebral activity. Pierpaolo Petruzziello, age 26, who underwent a month long experiment, says he is now able to control the arm with his mind and the distinction between a real limb and an artificial prosthetic seems to have faded completely.

According to Mr. Petruzziello,

“It’s a matter of mind, of concentration. When you think of it as your hand and forearm, it all becomes easier.”

The use of advanced prosthesis in cases of amputations isn’t new to the medical world, but what has really made this whole experiment really special is the fact that, that the subject has been able to control the arm entirely by his thoughts. A milestone that was always dreamed about, but was never realized up until now.

In the year 2008, Mr. Petruzziello was implanted with electrodes in the remainder of his amputated arm, that was surgically removed three years ago. However, the artificial limb was not implanted onto the amputated limb, instead was connected to the electrodes. The patient over the time was able to make a connection with the artificial limb with the help of his brain and was able to conduct basic day to day gestures, such as make a fist, grab objects and other movements.

Via Associated Press.