PEOPLE | Paralyzed Man Gets Brain-Computer Implant in Breakthrough Procedure That Helped Restore Feeling in His Fingers
A man who became paralyzed nine years ago has become a pioneer for a new kind of neurotechnology. Brandon Patterson, 41, had surgery in Colorado to install a brain-computer interface into the cortex of his brain, where higher functioning brain activity is located — marking the first time this has ever happened in the world — according to CBS News. Brain-computer interfaces “create a direct communication pathway between the brain's electrical activity and external devices such as electroencephalography devices, computers, robotic limbs and other brain monitoring devices,” according to Georgia Tech Research. Three ports were installed on top of Patterson’s head to connect and communicate with outside computers, and they can “record one or even a couple of single neurons that are local to that area,” UCHealth neurosurgeon Dr. Daniel Kramer told CBS News.