A paralyzed man has regained the ability to feed himself and hold a cup after receiving a pioneering brain implant that bypasses his spinal cord injury.
Keith Thomas, from Massapequa, New York, was left paralyzed from the chest down following a diving accident in 2020.
He experienced restored arm movement and tactile sensations through a double neural bypass system, as reported by The Guardian.
The technology uses a brain-computer interface that translates thoughts into physical actions while returning sensory data to the brain.
The system captures neural activity when the patient intends to move his limbs, sending instructions directly to his arms and hands.
Sensors on his fingertips and palms detect contact with objects and send simulated touch signals back to sensory regions of his brain.
This closed-loop system allows delicate tasks, such as handling fragile egg shells without breaking them.
Significant Physical Improvements
After 35 weeks of training with the clinical system, researchers reported an 86% strength increase in the patient's right arm and a 62% increase in his left arm.
He can now independently perform daily tasks like scratching his nose and wiping his face.
The clinical team noted that the technology has stimulated natural nervous system recovery, leaving some improvements intact even when the system is powered down.
"For me this is an incredible moment," said Prof Chad Bouton, whose team developed the technology at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.
"For years, we have wanted to tackle the restoration of movement and the sense of touch and bring those together."
Bouton added, "I think we’re going to continue to see progress and it’ll be applicable to millions of folks around the world who really need this technology."
Long-Term Sensory Recovery
To enhance tactile feedback, researchers applied a custom therapy called cortical mirroring, which stimulates the brain, spinal cord, and skin simultaneously using mapped patterns of imagined touch.
This allowed the patient to regain natural touch sensations in his right wrist, which had remained numb since the accident.
"In a recent follow up, it was found these gains were still present after more than two years," said Bouton.
"This is incredibly encouraging."
