Erik G. Sorto was paralyzed from the neck down due to a gunshot wound when he was 21.
However, he has become the first person in the world to have a neural prosthetic device implanted in the part of the brain where intentions are made.
With clinical collaboration of Caltech, Keck Medicine of USC, and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, Sorto has been able to move a robotic arm just by thinking and using his imagination. He has been able to perform handshakes, drink a beverage, and even play “rock, paper, scissors,” using this arm, according to the study.
In the past, neural prosthetic devices were implanted in the brain’s movement center, the motor cortex, which allowed patients with paralysis to control robotic limbs. However, the movements were jerky and not natural. Caltech researchers hoped to find a way to make the movement of neuroprosthetics smooth and humanlike.
Led by principal investigator Richard Andersen, neurosurgeon Charles Y. Lui, professor of neurological surgery, neurology, and biomedical engineering at USC, and neurologist Mindy Aisen, chief medical officer at Ranchos Los Amigos, the clinical trial attempted to connect the implant device in the part of the brain that controlled the intentions to move rather than the movement directly.
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