Johns Hopkins Makes History After Double Amputee Controls Prosthetic Arms With His Thoughts

December 19, 2014

A Colorado man made history at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) this summer when he became the first bilateral shoulder-level amputee to wear and simultaneously control two of the Laboratory's Modular Prosthetic Limbs.

man with no arms gets robot arms

Most importantly, Les Baugh, who lost both arms in an electrical accident 40 years ago, was able to operate the system by simply thinking about moving his limbs, performing a variety of tasks during a short training period.

man with no arms gets robot arms

"It's a relatively new surgical procedure that reassigns nerves that once controlled the arm and the hand," explained Johns Hopkins Trauma Surgeon Albert Chi, M.D. "By reassigning existing nerves, we can make it possible for people who have had upper-arm amputations to control their prosthetic devices by merely thinking about the action they want to perform."

Watch the video below:


Click Here For The Most Popular On Sunny Skyz

feel good videoBoy With Down Syndrome Nails The Whitney Houston Challenge, And The Crowd Goes Wild

feel good storiesHusband Rents Mall Store To Share His Late Wife's Beloved Christmas Display

feel good storiesThe ‘Grandma Stand’ Is Bringing Comfort And Connection, One Conversation At A Time

feel good storiesThis Priest Secretly Became A Masked Wrestler To Fund An Orphanage

feel good storiesThe Funniest Wildlife Photos Of 2025 Are Here — And They’re Hilarious

feel good storiesThis 30-Year-Old’s Christmas Gift To His Mom Is Going Viral

feel good videoDad Jokes With Tom Hardy And His Dad

feel good videoAfter 2 Years Apart, Siblings In Foster Care Are Finally Reunited

feel good videoThe Hug That Went Viral On Facebook

feel good videoYou Have To See This 'Piggy Train' Trotting Through The Snow

feel good videoShe’s Been Helping Hungry Children For Years — This Christmas, Someone Helped Her

Chris Filippou 12:17 PM (3 minutes ago) to me