How a Brain-Computer Interface Can Restore the Sense of Touch to a Paralyzed Man

For the first time in 10 years, Ian Burkhart is able to move his arm and feel what he is touching. The findings were reported late last month in the journal Cell.   Burkhart, who suffered a spinal cord injury (SCI) in 2010 leaving him paralyzed, was the first participant in a five-year study of Battelle's NeuroLife neural bypass technology, a project Battelle has worked on in conjunction with doctors at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. MD+DI previously reported on the study in August 2019, and in April 2016. The latest breakthrough came from analysis of years of data collected from the study with Burkhart.   “When the chip was placed on the surface of Ian’s motor cortex in 2014, it was not known that the signals related to object touch could be observed because of the paralysis,” said lead author and Battelle Principal Research Scientist Patrick Ganzer. “Furthermore, Ian has a very severe SCI that should essentially block hand touch signals from even reaching the brain.” However, analysis has shown that subperceptual touch following a spinal cord injury affects Burkhart’s motor cortex even though there is essentially a block from the nerves in his arms and their connection back to the brain. Importantly, this subperceptual signal can be detected in the brain, rerouted via the brain-c...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: R & D Source Type: news