Amputees are in the infant stages of controlling prostheses directly with their minds. Through targeted muscle reinnervation, the nerves from the amputated limb are reenergized in a different part of the body, for example, the chest. When an amputee wants to use their arm in a particular fashion, he or she thinks the action, prompting the nerves in the chest to react. That reaction sends a message to a microprocessor in the robotic limb, which performs the action.
Currently, there are only 35 people in the world with TMR limbs, and Blanck has fit 14 of them. He says the ever-changing prosthetic field aims to allow an amputee think about their prosthesis in a way that is normal.
Jesse Sullivan (left) was the first man to receive this treatment technique from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and Claudia Mitchel (right) was the first woman to receive it
