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Robotic arm gives hope to paralyzed patients

01.12.11

By correspondent Jeff Glor and producer Lauren Vance

There's new hope for the disabled: Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center wanted to see if paralyzed patients could move robotic limbs using nothing but their brains.

Combining mind and machine could improve the lives of millions of people.

Tim Hemmes was part of a clinical trial. It lasted only 30 days, but what was accomplished is giving new hope to spinal cord patients around the world.

A simple touch on the hand is a basic gesture most people take for granted. But for many spinal cord patients, it's something they only dream of.

"I saw my mom reach down and pick my daughter up to lift her up to wash her hands for dinner. That was the defining moment of standing up and lifting her up. I realized, I can't do that. That was very hard for me," Hemmes said.

As Jeff Glor reports, this month, Hemmes became the first man in the world to control a bionic arm with his mind. "Is it 'Star Trek'-like? I don't know, maybe a little bit, but this is something that I did, so it's not a movie," he said.

Source: CBS News