Groundbreaking brain implants restore hand control — and hope — for paralyzed man

Keith Thomas, who became paralyzed from the chest down after a pool accident, has regained control over his hands through a groundbreaking medical study involving brain implants.

Conducted by Northwell Health, Thomas underwent a surgery where five small chips were implanted into his brain in a procedure known as a double neuro bypass. The chips send and interpret signals between his brain, damaged spinal cord and hands, allowing him some movement.

"We are literally pulsing very intense electrical patterns, but very briefly, that activates those circuits, those damaged circuits that are in his spinal cord and then we believe it's starting to strengthen those connections. There's a saying that neurons that fire together, wire together," said engineer Chad Bouton, who leads the Neural Bypass Lab in New York.