On October 27, 2020, surgeons and researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine conducted a delicate surgical procedure to implant specialized electrodes into the brain of a quadriplegic patient, allowing him to control, manipulate and feel sensation from an arm in a virtual reality environment. The subject is the first person in Chicago and just the fourth subject to participate in an ongoing multisite study dedicated to understanding how the brain receives and sends motor and sensory signals.
Scott Imbrie was 19 when a car accident damaged his spinal cord and left him paralyzed from the neck down. Though his doctors said it was unlikely, over months of rehabilitation, he was able to relearn how to walk. Now, decades later, he’s pushing the envelope of medical possibility yet again — this time as a subject in a unique research trial to test the use of neuroprosthetic devices that allow him to sense and manipulate a virtual hand and, eventually, a robotic prosthetic.
Imbrie’s surgery was the first time the procedure, including both motor and sensory electrodes, had been performed in Chicago. The implanted electrodes receive neuronal signals from his motor cortex, allowing him to control and manipulate an arm in a virtual reality (VR) environment. They also send sensory feedback to his brain, allowing him to experience touch sensations on his hand to “feel” pressure and vibration. Ultimately, the team plans to connect the system to a robotic prosthetic hand for Imbrie to use in the real world. Refining this research and developing new advanced neuroprosthetic devices would provide new freedom for people who are paralyzed or missing a limb.
