Paralysed man moves arm for first time since accident using brain implant that reads his thoughts

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “For somebody who’s been injured eight years and couldn’t move, being able to move just that little bit is awesome to me,” said Mr Kochevar, who first started using the system about two years ago. “I just think ‘out’ and it just goes.” The scientists involved, who described the system in a paper in the journal The Lancet, said it was the first time someone with complete paralysis had been able to reach out and grasp something using a brain-controlled implant in this way. Dr Bolu Ajiboye, of Case Western Reserve University in the US, said: “Our research is at an early stage, but we believe that this neuro-prosthesis could offer individuals with paralysis the possibility of regaining arm and hand functions to perform day-to-day activities, offering them greater independence. “The goal is futuristic: a paralysed individual thinks about moving her arm as if her brain and muscles were not disconnected, and implanted technology seamlessly executes the desired movement,” he wrote.