Tag Archives: paralyzed

Paralyzed Man Experiences Sensations Through Others’ Touch

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Keith Thomas (right) was able to control other people’s hands.

Matthew Ribasi/Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

A paralyzed individual can now move and sense the hands of others as if they were his own due to an innovative ‘telepathic’ brain implant. “We’ve established a mind-body connection between two distinct individuals,” explains Chad Bouton from the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York.

Bouton theorizes this method could serve as a rehabilitation tool following spinal cord injuries, enabling paralyzed individuals to collaborate and potentially allowing shared experiences from a distance.

Bouton and his team collaborated with Keith Thomas, a man in his 40s who became paralyzed from the chest down after a diving accident in July 2020, losing all movement and sensation in his hands.

In a prior study in 2023, researchers inserted five sets of small electrodes into the part of Thomas’s brain responsible for movement and sensation in his right hand, enabling them to monitor his neural activity through a device affixed to his skull.

By processing these signals through a computer equipped with an artificial intelligence model, the researchers deciphered the neural activity and relayed signals wirelessly to electrodes on Thomas’ forearm, prompting muscle contractions and relaxations that allowed him to move his hand. Thomas also used force sensors on his hands, transmitting signals back to his brain implant, thereby creating a sense of touch. Consequently, he was able to use his mind to pick up and feel objects in his hands for the first time in years.

Now, the team has adapted a similar system that enables Thomas to control and sense through the hands of others. In one experiment, a non-disabled woman was fitted with forearm electrodes and numerous force sensors on her thumb and index finger. Although she did not attempt to move, Thomas was able to open and close her hand by merely imagining the action.

He could also perceive the sensation of her fingers gripping a baseball, a soft foam ball, and a firmer ball in his own hand, distinguishing between them based on their hardness while blindfolded. “It definitely feels strange,” Thomas remarked. “You’ll eventually get accustomed to it.”

Though Thomas could only identify the different balls with 64% accuracy, Bouton believes this figure could be enhanced by optimizing sensor locations and numbers on his hands. They also could not discern the shape of the balls, but Bouton is hopeful that additional brain electrodes and force sensors might enable them to recognize various objects.

In another similar trial, Thomas assisted a paralyzed woman named Kathy DeNapoli in picking up a can and drinking from it, a task she struggled to perform independently due to limited finger movement. “It was genuinely remarkable, how you can assist someone simply by thinking about it,” Thomas expressed.

Electrodes implanted in Keith Thomas’ brain are wired to a computer

Matthew Ribasi/Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

After several months of working with Thomas, DeNapoli’s grip strength nearly doubled, according to Bouton. DeNapoli’s paralysis isn’t so severe that receiving invasive surgery is morally questionable. While similar gains in grip strength can be achieved through conventional treatments like electrical muscle and spinal cord stimulation, Thomas and DeNapoli found collaborating far more appealing than rehabilitating alone, Bouton added.

“Just conversing about things like, ‘How’s your weekend going?’ can be beneficial. It enhances your self-esteem and theirs,” Thomas states. Bouton shared that the team intends to explore this approach with more individuals next year.

Rob Tyler, who has paralysis and is a lay member of the scientific committee of the spinal cord injury charity Inspire Foundation, perceives potential value in this method for specific paralyzed patients..

“I view this as a convenient option,” he states. “It’s enjoyable to collaborate with other patients who likely share similar experiences. It can greatly enhance someone’s quality of life.” He emphasized that finding the right combination of people with compatible outlooks and motivations will be critical.

Bouton admits numerous ethical concerns regarding who could benefit from this method must be addressed before it can receive broader medical approval, which he aims to achieve within the next decade.

Nonetheless, Bouton asserts that such technology may have applications beyond medical use, such as allowing non-disabled individuals to remotely control or experience sensations through others. “This could represent a new frontier for human connection,” he suggests.

However, it opens up a plethora of ethical dilemmas. “Is it beneficial or detrimental for society if people can control and feel through others?” questions Harris Akram from University College London Hospital. “I can envision using your body to harm another individual, or controlling someone to perpetrate a crime, and then claiming, ‘That wasn’t me.’

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Source: www.newscientist.com

AI Decodes Brain Waves of Paralyzed Individuals into Real-Time Audio

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A man with paralysis is connected to a brain-computer interface system

Lisa E. Howard/Mitely Wairagkar et al. 2025

Men who have lost their ability to speak can engage in real-time conversations and even sing using brain-controlled synthetic voices.

The brain-computer interface captures neural activity through electrodes implanted in the brain, instantly creating audio sounds that match intended pitch, intonation, and emphasis.

“This represents a breakthrough in instantaneous speech synthesis, achieving this within 25 ms,” says Sergei Stavisky from the University of California, Davis.

While advancements are needed to improve speech clarity, Maitreyee Wairagkar, also at UC Davis, notes that the individual who lost his speech due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis expresses happiness and feels that he has found his true voice.

Existing speech neurospheres that utilize brain-computer interfaces typically require a few seconds to convert brain activity into sound. Stavisky mentions that this delays natural conversation and if the connection falters, it can feel like speaking on a poor-quality phone call.

To create a more seamless speech experience, Wairagkar, Stavisky, and their team implanted 256 electrodes in the areas of the male brain responsible for facial muscle control necessary for speech. In subsequent sessions, they introduced thousands of sentences on a screen, recorded brain activity, and prompted the subject to vocalize with specific intonations.

“For instance, phrases like ‘How are you today?’ or variations such as ‘How are you? today?’ can significantly alter the meaning of sentences,” explains Stavisky. “This approach allows for a richer, more natural dialog, marking a significant advancement over previous technologies.”

The researchers utilized an AI model trained to link particular patterns of neural activity with corresponding words and tonal variations, resulting in synthetic speech that mirrors both the content and emotional delivery intended by the user.

The AI was trained with audio recordings from before the male’s condition deteriorated, employing voice-cloning technology to ensure the synthetic speech bore a resemblance to his original voice.

In another phase of the study, researchers attempted to teach him to sing a simple melody with varying pitches, with their models accurately interpreting the intended pitch in real time and adjusting the produced singing voice accordingly.

He also utilizes the system to communicate spontaneously, making sounds such as “hmmm,” “eww,” and forming words, as noted by Wairagkar.

“He’s a remarkably articulate and intelligent individual,” says David Brandman from UC Davis. “Despite his paralysis, he has continued to participate actively in work and engage in meaningful conversations.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Using Brain Implant to Control Virtual Drones: Paralyzed Individuals Can Now Fly with Their Thoughts

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A virtual drone was steered through an obstacle course by imagining moving a finger.

Wilsey et al.

A paralyzed man with electrodes implanted in his brain can pilot a virtual drone through an obstacle course just by imagining moving his fingers. His brain signals are interpreted by an AI model and used to control a simulated drone.

Research on brain-computer interfaces (BCI) has made great progress in recent years, allowing people with paralysis to write speech on a computer by precisely controlling a mouse cursor or imagining writing words with a pen. It became. However, so far it has not yet shown much promise in complex applications with multiple inputs.

now, Matthew Wilsey Researchers at the University of Michigan created an algorithm that allows users to trigger four discrete signals by imagining moving their fingers and thumbs.

The anonymous man who tried the technique is a quadriplegic due to a spinal cord injury. He was already fitted with Blackrock Neurotech's BCI, which consists of 192 electrodes implanted in the area of ​​the brain that controls hand movements.

An AI model was used to map the complex neural signals received by the electrodes onto the user's thoughts. Participants learned how to think about moving the first two fingers of one hand to generate electrical signals that can be made stronger or weaker. Another signal was generated by the next two fingers, and another two by the thumb.

These are enough to allow the user to control the virtual drone with just their head, and with practice they will be able to expertly maneuver it through obstacle courses. Wilsey said the experiment could have been done using a real drone, but was done virtually for simplicity and safety.

“The goal of building a quadcopter was largely shared by our lab and the participants,” Wilsey says. “For him, it was a kind of dream come true that he thought was lost after he got injured. He had a passion and a dream to fly. He felt so empowered and capable. He instructed us to take a video and send it to a friend.

Although the results are impressive, Willsey says there is still much work to be done before BCIs can be reliably used for complex tasks. First, AI is required to interpret the signals from the electrodes, but this depends on individual training for each user. Second, this training must be repeated over time as function declines. This could be due to slight misalignment of the electrodes in the brain or changes in the brain itself.

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Source: www.newscientist.com