Cathy Hutchinson is a tetraplegic.She has not been able to move her arms,legs or speak since suffering a strokenearly fifteen years ago.Recently, she learned how to control a robotic armusing her thoughts.She now can use brain activity to serve herself a drink.The American woman is one of two peoplewho took part in a research project known as BrainGate2.The researchers have spent yearsstudying how to help people who are paralyzedregain movement in their arms and legs.John Donoghue is a neuroscientist with Brown Universityand the Department of Veterans Affairs.He also was part of the project.JOHN DONOGHUE: "People who are paralyzedhave their brain disconnected from their body.So they are not able to go outand do everyday things that you and I can do,like reach for a glass of water or scratch your nose.So our idea is to bypass that damaged nervous systemand go directly from the brain to the outside worldso the brain signals can, not control muscle,but control machines or deviceslike a computer or a robotic limb."The two paralyzed people had small sensorsconnected to the part of the brain that controls movement.The devices measured brain activityand sent that information to a computer.The computer has special softwarethat turns the information into digital commandsfor operating other devices.The researchers used a highly developed robotic armto recreate human actions.Scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital,Harvard Medical School and the German Aerospace Centeralso took part in the study.The BrainGate team had its first success in two thousand six.A tetraplegic stabbing victimwas able use the brain-computer interface systemto control a computer cursor.John Donoghue says the latest developmentusing robotic arms is a major victory.A video of the latest experiment shows Cathy Hutchinsonusing the robotic arm to pick up a cup of coffee.She guides the cup toward her mouth,moves it forward and drinks through a straw.Lead investigator Leigh Hochberg saysthe first time she did it was a magical moment.LEIGH HOCHBERG: "To see her with that robotic armreach out and pick up that cup of coffeeand serve herself that coffee for the first timein nearly fifteen years, it was an incredible moment."The research team carried out almost two hundred testswith two different robotic arms.The two individuals were able to pick uptheir target objects forty-threeto sixty-six percent of the time.The researchers are calling the information very promising.But they say it will take yearsto fully develop the technology for everyday use.A report on the BrainGate study appeared last weekin the scientific journal Nature.And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report.