Brain-connected implants help paralyzed patients feel objects and shapes

For years now, brain-computer interfaces (BCI) have incrementally advanced, giving people with spinal injuries or lost limbs the ability to control prosthetics and computer cursors using their signals. But even though the tech has made strides, the replicating subtle, delicate, nuanced sensations of touch has remained just out of reach. Now, however, a team of researchers from the Cortical Bionics Research Group believe they have made a major breakthrough. A pair of patients wearing a BCI was able to control a bionic arm and "feel" tactile edges, shapes, and curvatures along its fingers. The researchers' findings were published today in the journal Science.