Paralyzed man moves hand again with experimental OSU brain implant
In a truly astounding feat of medical science, a paralyzed Dublin man is able to use his right hand again thanks to an experimental computer chip implanted into his brain.
It is now officially the future.
The computer chip was developed at the The OSU Wexner Medical Center, and it sends electrical impulses from his brain to the muscles of his arm, allowing him to move his right hand.
That is to say, the computer chip interprets his thoughts for him, bypasses his injured spinal cord, and electrically stimulates his muscle to make his hand move appropriately.
The treatment is still in development, and Ian Burkhart, 24, can only move his right hand when he’s hooked up into a special machine for a few hours a week.
He says that doing anything was very difficult at first, but now that he and the computer have learned from one another, simple tasks have become easier. But when Burkhart tries new tasks, or tasks he hasn’t done for a while, he says it requires a lot of mental effort.
Experts in the field say the findings are promising, and Burkhart says he would like to participate in more studies (especially ones that work outside of the laboratory) as the technology becomes more advanced.
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