Paralysed man regains hand function through novel brain technology

{"text":[[{"start":7.15,"text":"A person has regained movement and feeling in his previously paralysed hands in a claimed world-first use of a brain implant technology that gives hope to other spinal cord injury sufferers."}],[{"start":18.25,"text":"Researchers used an advanced machine-learning algorithm and skin sensors to translate the patient’s brainwaves into movements of his limbs, according to a paper published in Nature Medicine on Thursday. "}],[{"start":29.2,"text":"The man living with quadriplegia, called Keith Thomas, was able to feed himself, and the benefits persisted for months after the intervention ceased, the study said."}],[{"start":40.3,"text":"The so-called double neural bypass method is a further advance in fast-developing efforts to build neuroprosthetics to restore motor abilities and speech. The scientists aimed to boost both immediate function and longer-term improvement by promoting neuroplasticity — the formation of new connections and pathways in the nervous system."}],[{"start":59.8,"text":"“This research holds promise for millions of patients, opening up potential for future research and practical clinical applications that could help hundreds of thousands of people living with paralysis,” said Chad Bouton, the research team’s leader and a professor at New York’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. “This approach is a new way to treat severe paralysis — we’re not just bypassing the injury, we’re actually rewiring the nervous system.”"}],[{"start":84.65,"text":"The researchers implanted five microelectrode arrays in Thomas’s brain during a 15-hour open-skull surgery to gather signals corresponding to his physical intentions."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":95.75,"text":"They fed these to the machine learning algorithm, which delivered the needed electrical stimulation to Thomas’s forearm muscles when he thought about moving his hand. The researchers combined the implants with patches worn on the skin that electrically stimulated spinal cord and muscle targets."}],[{"start":112.95,"text":"Over 35 weeks, Thomas — who sustained his injury in a diving accident in 2020 — achieved increases of 86 per cent in right arm strength and 62 per cent in left arm strength. In practical terms, this meant he progressed from being unable to lift his hands to his face to independently scratching his nose and wiping his mouth."}],[{"start":136.5,"text":"The system deployed sensors embedded in a custom 3D-printed device to measure the pressure applied by Thomas when grasping objects. This triggered corresponding electrical stimulation patterns in his brain, creating the perception of touch."}],[{"start":150.3,"text":"Thomas successfully grasped and lifted hollow, empty eggshells 87 per cent of the time without breaking them, the researchers said."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":158.60000000000002,"text":"Other scientists praised the study’s innovative blending of multiple techniques, while noting that it was on a single subject and fell short of full recovery."}],[{"start":167.3,"text":"The case appeared to represent a “very significant advance for the field of neuroprosthetics”, said Letizia Gionfrida, lecturer in computer vision at King’s College London."}],[{"start":177.95000000000002,"text":"The restoration of both movement and sensory feedback via “bidirectional communication” was “novel and particularly important”, she said."}],[{"start":186.3,"text":"“Everyday hand function depends not only on generating movement, but also on receiving sensory information to tell your hands how to grip, hold and use fine motor function,” she said. “Imagine carrying a vase without instinctively knowing how much force to apply.”"}],[{"start":202.4,"text":"The restoration of touch functionality was only partial, and the study was “a step towards future work, rather than an end in itself”, said David McGonigle, lecturer in neurostimulation at Cardiff University. But he said the suggestions of nervous system adaptation were “intriguing” if unproven, while the reported motor improvements were “particularly impressive”. "}],[{"start":222.9,"text":"“That’s where the real worth of the study lies, with the participant now able to perform meaningful everyday tasks such as feeding himself and manipulating delicate objects,” McGonigle said."}],[{"start":242.45,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784296773_9352.mp3"}