Fayette County man in ‘Science’ after using brain implants to control robotic arm in Pitt study

PITTSBURGH — 35-year-old Nathan Copeland lost the sensation of touch and most of the ability to move his limbs in a car crash when he was 18. He broke his neck in the crash.

According to our partners at TribLive.com, the Dunbar, Fayette County native has been involved in a study at the University of Pittsburgh Rehab Neural Engineering Labs to help regain some sensation and movement. He has a robotic arm that is controlled by electrode arrays implanted in his brain.

A team of bioengineers from the lab published a paper in “Science” detailing how Copeland is able to use the arm. He gets sensory feedback from it, delivered through additional electrodes in the region of the brain that controls that.

He’s reportedly the first person in the world to have the electrode arrays implanted in his brain and he makes the trip from his home to the lab three days a week.

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