IT·Science Talk

Brain implant story: the gains stayed even with the system switched OFF

Everyone's (rightly) focused on Keith Thomas feeding himself and feeling his sister's hand again. But read the details in the GONOM post: some of the gains held even with everything switched off, and were still there more than two years later.

That suggests the “bypass” isn't just a crutch, it may be helping the nervous system partly rewire. Arm strength up 86% on the right and 62% on the left after 35 weeks of training.

The caveat the Smithsonian piece made clear: one patient. But if that persistence holds up in bigger trials, this is a very different kind of device.