Paralysed man plays Guitar Hero using mind control
Computer chip implant allows quadriplegic to move his hand and fingers for first time in six years
A quadriplegic in the US has become the first recipient of a brain implant allowing him to move his fingers again.
Ian Burkhart was left paralysed below his elbows and unable to walk following a diving accident six years ago.
Now, with the help of a computer chip implant and an electronic sleeve, he is able to grasp and move large objects and even play video game Guitar Hero. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"93480","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The implant reads Burkhart's brain signals and decodes them using a computer before stimulating the muscles in his arm via the electrode-covered sleeve.
The system is imprecise and requires incredible levels of concentration from the 24-year-old from Ohio.
"Initially we'd do a short session and I'd feel mentally fatigued and exhausted, like I'd been in a six or seven-hour exam," said Burkhart.
"For 19 years of my life I took it for granted: I think and my fingers move. But with more and more practise it became much easier. It's second nature."
Despite the breakthrough, the new technology is not a cure for paralysis, says the New York Times. Burkhart can use his hand "only when connected to computers in the lab, and the researchers said there was much work to do before the system could provide significant mobile independence", reports the paper.
Nevertheless, Burkhart remained positive. "Right now, it's only in a clinical setting, but with enough people working on it and enough attention, it can be something I can use outside of the hospital, at my home and outside my home and really improve the quality of my life," he said.
The scientists' study, published in the science journal Nature, marks a significant moment in the field of using computers to bypass spinal cord injuries, says the BBC.
"This really provides hope, we believe, for many patients in the future as this technology evolves and matures to help people who have disabilities to allow them to be more functional and more independent," said Ali Rezai, the neurosurgeon who implanted the chip in Burkhart's brain.
"Ten years ago we couldn't do this. Imagine what we can do in another ten."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - December 21, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - losing it, pedal to the metal, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Three fun, festive activities to make the magic happen this Christmas Day
Inspire your children to help set the table, stage a pantomime and write thank-you letters this Christmas!
By The Week Junior Published
-
The best books of 2024 to give this Christmas
The Week Recommends From Percival Everett to Rachel Clarke these are the critics' favourite books from 2024
By The Week UK Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing?
Talking Point Kremlin's newest ballistic missile has some worried for Nato nations
By The Week UK Published
-
Russia vows retaliation for Ukrainian missile strikes
Speed Read Ukraine's forces have been using U.S.-supplied, long-range ATCMS missiles to hit Russia
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published