A team of Ohio State University researchers revealed an impressive advancement in biotechnology.
The scientists were able to restore various hand, finger, and wrist movements through a brain implant in a quadriplegic named Ian Burkhart, according to a study published in Nature.
Burkhart suffered a spinal cord injury at age 19 after diving into a wave that hid a sandbar. His neck snapped at the C5 level, which meant he had limited movement in his arms whereas his hands and legs became inert, writes The Guardian. He agreed to the experimental trial while getting treatment from physicians at Ohio State.
The doctors installed the implant two years ago in his motor cortex. It operated by recording electrical signals emitted by that part of the brain. The next step involved uploading the recorded information into a computer and transforming it into electrical pulses sent to a sleeve Burkhart had on his forearm.
A total of 130 electrodes sent the pulses to muscles that controlled different wrist and finger movements, which would be tuned to help produce movements Burkhart thinks about making, added The Guardian.
This is the first time such an approach has been able to work in real-time to return mobility in humans.
Nature posted the video below showing the device in action.
