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Research Highlights
VA Rehab Engineer Elected to National Academy of Engineering
Taken from the Veterans Health Administration Highlights dated March 8, 2002
P. Hunter Peckham, Ph.D., Director of VA’s Rehabilitation Research and Development Center for Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) in Cleveland, was elected in February to the National Academy of Engineering. The Academy promotes the technological welfare of the nation by drawing on the expertise of the nation’s leading engineers.
Dr. Peckham, who also directs the Cleveland FES Center and teaches biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University, is noted for his work in restoring muscle function to patients paralyzed by spinal cord injury. He pioneered the development of "Freehand," an artificial nerve system that enables the user to grasp objects. The unit works by sending electrical signals from an implant in the chest to electrodes in the muscles of the forearm and hand. The result is new independence for patients who had lost the use of their hands.
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