"What we did is take the four major nerves that used to go down his arm and transferred them to his chest muscle," said Dr. Todd Kuiken.
Now, Sullivan can think about bending his arm or closing his hand and electrodes in his chest pick up those impulses and activate his highly experimental robotic arm.
"It's almost automatic," he said. "It's not as good as what I had before, but it is the best so far."
The transplanted nerves do more than just drive the arm, Wojciechowski said. They also carry sensations.
Kuiken and Sullivan demonstrated how a touch to various areas of the patient's chest will trigger sensation, which Sullivan feels is coming from his mechanical arm.
RIC doctors are currently experimenting with devices that let Sullivan feel what his prosthetic hand touches, as well.
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