This Technology Helped a Paralyzed Man Move His Hand and Arm

There may be hope for those paralyzed to regain arm and hand control, according to a new study published in The Lancet.

One man – 53-year-old Cleveland resident Bill Kochevar, CNN reports – underwent a series of procedures for a neuro-prosthesis implant, a system that reestablished the connection between his brain and his muscles.

Kochevar hurt his spinal cord more than a decade ago in "a bicycling accident" and is paralyzed from his shoulders down. Spinal cord injuries typically result in losing muscle function in addition to paralysis.

The procedures in question included a brain surgery to install sensors and one to place 36 muscle stimulating electrodes in his upper and lower arm.

"We had him watch the virtual arm move, he attempted to move his arm in the same way, and that elicited some patterns of cortical activity – some patterns of electrical neural activity," study author and Case Western Reserve University assistant professor Abidemi Bolu Ajiboye told CNN.

Next, researchers connected "the brain-computer interface" and the electrical stimulators via a mathematical algorithm, according to a news release. The electrodes prompted muscle contraction and let Kochevar make moves he thought about, enabling him to feed himself and drink.

"Now he has opted voluntarily to continue working as a participant in our study for at least another five years," Ajiboye also told CNN.

The study is being touted as "the first in the world" to offer a paralyzed person the chance "to both reach and grasp objects...so that he can regain the ability to perform functional activities of daily living," Ajiboye continued. Previous separate studies have helped paraplegic people move their legs and paralyzed monkeys move again as well, notes CNN.

This neuro-prosthesis's limitations are that the patient's movements with the virtual reality arm proved quicker and more accurate than his real ones, and that he had to watch his arm as he worked with the technology.

The movement is promising, writes Steve Perlmutter of the University of Washington in a linked comment, though he warns the treatment isn't ready to move outside the lab just yet. " … The study is a proof-of-principle demonstration of what is possible, rather than a fundamental advance in neuro-prosthetic concepts or technology," he writes. "But it is an exciting demonstration nonetheless, and the future of motor neuro-prosthetics to overcome paralysis is brighter."