In a first, scientists in the US have developed a device which has given a 24-year-old paralysed man functional control of his hand, enabling him to grasp and swipe a credit card and play a guitar video game with his own fingers and hand.
These complex functional movements are driven by his own thoughts and a prototype medical system, scientists said.
Ian Burkhart, a quadriplegic from Ohio, is the first person to use the device called NeuroLife, researchers from the Ohio State University said.
This electronic neural bypass for spinal cord injuries reconnects the brain directly to muscles, allowing voluntary and functional control of a paralysed limb by using his thoughts, they said.
The device interprets thoughts and brain signals then bypasses his injured spinal cord and connects directly to a sleeve that stimulates the muscles that control his arm and hand, they said.
"We are showing for the first time that a quadriplegic patient is able to improve his level of motor function and hand movements," said Ali Rezai from Ohio State University.
Burkhart first demonstrated the neural bypass technology in June 2014, when he was able to open and close his hand simply by thinking about it.
Now, he can perform more sophisticated movements with his hands and fingers such as picking up a spoon or holding a phone to his ear - things he could not do before and which can significantly improve his quality of life.
"It is amazing to see what he has accomplished. Ian can grasp a bottle, pour the contents of the bottle into a jar and put the bottle back down," said Nick Annetta from non-profit corporation Battelle, which collaborated with the researchers to develop the device.
"Then he takes a stir bar, grips that and then stirs the contents of the jar that he just poured and puts it back down. He is controlling it every step of the way," said Annetta.
The neural bypass technology combines algorithms that learn and decode the user's brain activity and a high-definition muscle stimulation sleeve that translates neural impulses from the brain and transmits new signals to the paralysed limb, researchers said.
The Battelle team has been working on this technology for more than a decade. To develop the algorithms, software and stimulation sleeve, Battelle scientists first recorded neural impulses from an electrode array implanted in a paralysed person's brain.
They used that recorded data to illustrate the device's effect on the patient and prove the concept.
"We are hoping that this technology will evolve into a wireless system connecting brain signals and thoughts to the outside world to improve the function and quality of life for those with disabilities," said Rezai.
"One of our major goals is to make this readily available to be used by patients at home," he said.
The findings were published in the journal Nature.
