With approximately 12,000 new cases of spinal cord injury debilitating patients each year in the US, any restoration of function comes as good news. Recently researchers in Ohio managed to implant electrodes into the brain of a 24 year old man to control his arm muscles for the first time in the 4 years since his accident. He was able to grasp and manipulate objects. What could this mean for the future of brain-machine-interfaces? I explore in today’s podcast.
Some extras:
2015 statistics on spinal cord injuries. Some really interesting data that reveals the impact these injuries have on the patient. Take for example marital status:
Now the scientific article first reporting the technology that restores finger function in the quadriplegic man. Here is a description of the work from the New York Times the with less jargon.
The case report at the beginning was lifted from this article.
PILLS on KUCI 