One mind, two bodies: Man with brain implant controls another person’s hand—and feels what she feels
SMRTR summary
Kathy Denapoli watches as her own hand reaches for a water bottle and pours it perfectly — but the thoughts controlling her movements aren't coming from her own brain. They're coming from Keith Thomas, who sits nearby, paralyzed from the chest down.
Thomas broke his spine in a pool diving accident in 2020. Now he's part of a groundbreaking clinical trial using brain implants to create what researchers call "interhuman" connections. With thoughts alone, he can control another person's muscles through precise electrical stimulation.
The system works by recording Thomas's brain signals when he imagines movement. Those signals wirelessly activate muscle stimulators on his partner's arm, guiding their hand as intended. The connection flows both ways — Thomas can actually feel the objects the other person touches.
When Thomas helped Denapoli, who has partial paralysis, her success rate at pouring water tripled. She's nearly doubled her hand strength since starting the trial. "I couldn't have done that without you," Denapoli told Thomas.
The collaborative approach could revolutionize rehabilitation for spinal cord injuries, strokes, and neurological diseases.
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