Colorado Man First Ever To Control Artificial Limbs Just By Thinking

DENVER (CBS4) - A Colorado man has made history after being the first person able to control two artificial limbs at the same time just by thinking it.

CBS4's Kath Walsh recently was on hand when Les Baugh got his own set of artificial arms. Now, after decades, he'll finally be able to do simple things everyone else takes for granted.

When Baugh gets behind the wheel, his feet do the driving. He has gotten around that way for 40 years -- ever since he lost both arms at 17 years old.

"There was a foot race over a pile of gravel, and I was having to win the foot race and run right into a set of power lines," Baugh said.

He's tried prosthetics, but they were crude and painful. Now he's got the limbs he's been waiting for. Zach Harvey with Bulow Prosthetics came up with a state-of-the-art design, and Baugh is the perfect recipient. That's because 3 years ago he was in a study at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He had surgery that reassigned the nerves that once controlled his arms and hands to now control artificial limbs.

He made history by operating both arms by simply thinking. Eight sensors on each side align with the muscles in Baugh's chest. He thinks about a movement and pattern recognition software sends it to the arms.

Baugh is excited to finally do simple tasks like pushing a grocery cart.

"And then the beauty of it is I'll be able to take something off the shelf and put it in the cart," he said.

The arms are bionic, but Baugh says he's not the $6 million man, but he hopes to be a man with more freedom.

The hope is this is just the beginning and technology moves forward to help arm amputees live a better life.

Baugh says he intends to keep driving with his feet because he doesn't trust the arms for that.