Though he's only 23, Spencer Telligman has made his mark as an
artist. "You're putting paint on canvas and it feels great, it's
just awesome," said Spencer Telligman, Stroke Patient. Last
January, a stroke took away the use of his right hand--the one
he uses to paint. "I've been worrying since, since it happened
that I wouldn't be able to do anything anymore." A unique
clinical trial is restoring Spencer's confidence, and much more.
Patients do repetitive exercises and play games wearing this
motorized robotic arm, to help retrain their brain and make
their own arm's function. "Let's say the patient can do ten
percent then the robot will do 90 percent and as you get better
if you can do 50 percent, the robot will do 50 percent," said
Dr. Andrew Butler, Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation
Medicine Emory University. There's one more key element to this
trial-- a drug that helps the brain re-learn. "The drug targets
that system, the learning and memory system." After a lot of
hard work, Spencer's arm f