STAT+: Brain implant restores the sensation of touch in a person with quadriplegia

Keith Thomas just wanted to pet his dog.  A diving accident in 2020 damaged Thomas’ spinal cord and left him with virtually no ability to move or feel his limbs below his neck, so when Bow, his malshipoo, grazed his legs or nuzzled in his lap, Thomas couldn’t feel it or return the affection.  His family got Bow right as Thomas received a brain implant in 2023 as part of an experimental study. The device changed his life. When it zapped his brain and spinal cord with tiny jolts of electricity at ...