How Physical Therapy Jobs Are Connected to Extraordinary Gains in Medical Robotics
Read About the Human Brain Linked to a Robotic Arm
Pennsylvania physical therapy jobs are within range—some might say “robotic arm” range—of amazing research being conducted with Electrocorticography, or . In a project lead by a University of Pittsburgh neurobiologist, researchers taught a monkey how to use a robotic arm to mentally feed itself marshmallows; then they tested the technology on a quadriplegic human patient at the UPMC’s Rehabilitation Institute.
He hadn’t moved his limbs since sustaining a C-4 spinal cord injury in a motorcycle crash; interested physical therapists and others in allied healthcare can read about this patient’s mental feats with ECoG in the Pennsylvania paper, the Post Gazette. To summarize, the patient, 30 year-old Tim Hemmes, underwent surgery, so that an electronic grid could be placed against his brain without penetration. He then participated in a 28-day series of tests, the celebrated outcome of which proved that people with long-term paralysis can still produce brain signals and move their arms and legs.
To the patient and rehab team’s delight, the electrodes shallowly implanted in Mr. Hemmes’ brain read signals from neurons that captured arm motion, allowing him to exchange, with the robotic arm, an emotionally charged high-five with his doctor, and touch his girlfriend’s hand for the first time in 7 years.
“I believe they found the cure to paralysis,” Mr. Hemmes remarked in the interview video below that shows what groundbreaking rehab jobs can do with technology on their side. Mr. Hemmes doctors aren’t ready to proclaim a cure just yet, but they are comfortable with having identified a way to restore function in people with disabilities.
Fast Moving Therapy Careers Get a Jump Start with American Traveler Allied
The researchers behind this medical robotics phenomenon have received over $6 million in funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Defense's “Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency”, known as DARPA. It just goes to show that professionals in rehab jobs are well funded for good reasons. Physical Therapists looking for a jump start in their allied healthcare careers are strongly encouraged to align their talents with the right employer today.
And that’s us.
We work with America’s best rehabilitation hospitals. Call or apply online for a recession proof career in the country’s most prestigious rehab hospitals where working with mind blowing, life saving technologies is just another day of business as usual. Click on our benefits package and therapy career resource links to see six-figure earning potential in all 50 U.S. states. Always reach for the very best career solutions!
