A New York man left paralyzed in a diving accident is beginning to regain movement a year after receiving an artificial intelligence-powered implant in his brain.
A year ago, Keith Thomas, 46, could only move his arm an inch. Now, after a breakthrough procedure, he can extend his arm, grab a cup, and drink using nothing but thought and stimulation.
He has also regained sensation in his wrists and arms and can now feel the fur of his family dog.
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In 2020, Thomas was living on Long Island and working as a trader on Wall Street when he suffered a diving accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down.
“I jumped between the shallow end and the deep end of a friend’s pool,” he told Fox News Digital. “I hit the bottom and broke my neck. I was unconscious and couldn’t move.”
Keith Thomas (right), left paralyzed after a diving accident, is starting to regain some movement a year after receiving an AI-powered brain implant. Thomas is also pictured in the front left with his care team. (Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at Northwell Health)
Thomas recalls being taken by helicopter to the hospital for the beginning of a long recovery.
“It was during the coronavirus pandemic, so it was very difficult and isolating.”
A “groundbreaking” procedure
A year ago, Thomas could only move his arm an inch. But in 2023, he underwent a grueling 15-hour surgery during which the first AI-powered dual nerve bypass implant was inserted into his brain at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at Northwell Health in New York. embedded.
The study’s principal investigator, Professor Chad Bouton (right), shows the persistent movement of the arm and hand of Keith Thomas (left), who was paralyzed in a 2020 accident, in his laboratory at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. I am working to restore my senses. . (Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at Northwell Health)
“This groundbreaking clinical trial marks the first time that the brain, body and spinal cord of a paralyzed person have been electronically connected to restore permanent movement and sensation,” said the study’s principal investigator. said Chad Bouton, a professor at the Feinstein Institute for Bioelectronic Medicine. the institute told Fox News Digital.
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A surgical team led by Northwell Health neurosurgeon Dr. Ash Mehta implanted five microchips in Thomas’ brain. Two of them were implanted in regions that control movement, and three were implanted in regions that control touch.
“These microchips are connected to two ports implanted in his skull and run a custom AI we developed to read Keith’s brain waves and determine when he wants to move his hands. It’s linked to a powerful computer,” Bouton said.
Thomas, who lives with paralysis, poses with a research team at Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. The team worked with him over several months to restore permanent movement and sensation in his arm and hand. (Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at Northwell Health)
The device, called a “dual nerve bypass,” reroutes signals between his brain and body around the injury, based on his thoughts, doctors detailed.
“Dual nerve bypass technology also stimulates the muscles, brain, and spinal cord based on brain patterns, promoting permanent recovery of movement and sensation.”
“Keith’s brain, body and spinal cord are relearning how to work together again.”
The surgery required Thomas to be awake at some point in order for the microchip to be placed correctly in his brain.
“It was a little vague, but I remember someone asking me if I felt anything. I felt a tingling in a certain part of my hand,” Thomas recalled.
Three major milestones
After surgery, he regularly returns to the Feinstein Institute lab, where the team monitors his progress and conducts clinical trials of the results.
“Once the surgery was over and I saw the improvement during the tests, I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I was speechless.”
Mr Thomas had five tiny microchips implanted in his brain, forming a key part of the first ever ‘dual nerve bypass’. This technology uses artificial intelligence to decipher his thoughts and turn them into action. (Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at Northwell Health)
Thomas exceeded the team’s expectations and reached three major milestones.
“First, just a few months after the surgery, Keith felt his sister’s hand for the first time in three years since the accident,” Bouton said. “There was no dry eye in the lab at that time.”
Second, Thomas doubled his arm strength during the study period, which doctors said is typically not possible three years after a severe spinal cord injury.
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“Finally, with the strength and feeling in his arm returning, Keith has recently learned how to feel, lift a cup of tea to his mouth and drink it without anyone’s help, just with his thoughts.” ,” Bouton said.
“This is a great moment and something we’ve been working on for the last few years.”
Keith Thomas was able to feel his sister holding his hand for the first time since a diving accident in 2020 left him paralyzed from the chest down. (Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at Northwell Health)
Outside of the lab, Thomas also regained sensation in areas below the level of injury, such as his wrist.
“This suggests that Keith’s brain, body and spinal cord are relearning how to work together again, and some connections are becoming stronger,” Bouton said.
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Thomas described his own progress as “mind-boggling.”
“Every day I feel like we are accomplishing more and more.”
Looking to the future
The goal is for Thomas to continue gaining more movement and sensation outside of the lab, and he hopes to one day be able to drive his own power wheelchair without assistance.
After participating in a clinical trial at Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research that uses brain implants and artificial intelligence to reconnect the brain to a healthy part of the spinal cord, Thomas continues to improve and improve his arm and He regained movement and sensation in his hands. (Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at Northwell Health)
Thomas added, “I want to continue to make progress towards living a more independent life, and I hope to inspire others to enroll in clinical trials and help others through this trial. “Hopefully, that’s all I want,” he added.
Bouton and his team said they were “optimistic” that Thomas would continue to improve over time using the double neural bypass technique.
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“We continue to monitor his progress in terms of sensory and motor recovery,” he said. “Our team has also been approved to expand the clinical trial and is actively recruiting new participants.”
Professor Bouton (left) and Dr. Ashish Mehta of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research led a team of doctors and scientists to implant brain electrodes that permanently restored movement and sensation to a paralyzed man. (Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at Northwell Health)
Bouton said he believes AI has great potential to improve outcomes for patients with paralysis.
“AI is already changing the way medicine is practiced today, but our work combining AI and brain-computer interface technology could revolutionize the treatment of paralysis and many other conditions in the future,” he said. I believe that,” he said.
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“Our goal is to one day use this technology to help people with paralysis regain more function and live more independent lives.”
