In 2020, Keith Thomas dived into a pool and snapped his spine. The accident left him paralyzed from the chest down and unable to feel and move his arms and legs. Alone and isolated in a hospital room due to the pandemic, he jumped on a “first-of-its-kind” clinical trial that promised to restore some sense of feeling and muscle control using an innovative brain implant.
Researchers designed the implant to reconnect the brain, body, and spinal cord. An AI detects Thomas’ intent to move and activates his muscles with gentle electrical zaps. Sensors on his fingertips shuttle feelings back to his brain. Within a year, Thomas was able to lift and drink from a cup, wipe his face, and pet and feel the soft fur of his family’s dog, Bow.
The promising results led the team at Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell wondering: If the implant can control muscles in one person, can that person also use it to control someone else’s muscles?
A preprint now suggests such “interhuman” connections are possible. With thoughts alone, Thomas controlled the hand of an able-bodied volunteer using precise electrical zaps to her muscles.
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