Brain implant restores movement and sensation to man paralyzed from diving accident

A revolutionary "double neural bypass" brain implant has restored movement and the sensation of touch to Keith Thomas, a 42-year-old New York man paralyzed from the chest down after a 2020 diving accident. Developed by the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, the system uses microelectrodes and AI to decode brain signals and stimulate muscles, while sensors recreate tactile sensations. Remarkably, Thomas's physical gains—including an 86% increase in right arm strength—persisted for over two years even when the device was turned off, indicating actual nervous system rewiring.

Double neural bypass procedure

• ▪A neuroprosthetic system called a double neural bypass, developed by researchers at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, successfully restored hand movement and the sense of touch to a paralyzed man.
• ▪The double neural bypass system reads brain signals linked to a person's intention to move and delivers targeted electrical stimulation to the spinal cord, forearm muscles, and the primary somatosensory cortex.

Brain-computer interface technology

• ▪The brain-computer interface system incorporates a neural network computational model that decoded Keith Thomas's intended hand movements with up to 84.6 percent accuracy over five months without retraining.
• ▪The double neural bypass system utilizes five microelectrode arrays surgically implanted into the brain alongside wearable stimulation patches placed on the skin.

Keith Thomas recovery outcomes

• ▪Keith Thomas regained the ability to feel touch in his right wrist after 25 weeks of a targeted therapy called cortical mirroring.
• ▪Physical and sensory improvements achieved by Keith Thomas persisted for more than two years even when the double neural bypass device was switched off.
• ▪Keith Thomas, who was paralyzed from the chest down after a 2020 diving accident, achieved an 86 percent increase in right arm strength and a 62 percent increase in left arm strength after 35 weeks of training.

Future clinical trial expansion

• ▪Researchers plan to expand clinical trials of the double neural bypass system to include more patients with differing levels of spinal injuries and other neurological conditions, such as stroke.
• ▪The double neural bypass system currently remains highly specialized and requires trained staff to operate.