London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Paralysed man moves in mind-reading exoskeleton

A man who had not walked for two years was able to move all his limbs thanks to new technology.

A man has been able to move all four of his paralysed limbs with a mind-controlled exoskeleton suit, French researchers report.

Thibault, 30, said taking his first steps in the suit felt like being the "first man on the Moon".

His movements, particularly walking, are far from perfect and the robo-suit is being used only in the lab.

But researchers say the approach could one day improve patients' quality of life.


How does it work?

hibault had surgery to place two implants on the surface of the brain, covering the parts of the brain that control movement.

Sixty-four electrodes on each implant read the brain activity and beam the instructions to a nearby computer.

Sophisticated computer software reads the brainwaves and turns them into instructions for controlling the exoskeleton.

Thibault has to be strapped into the exoskeleton.

When he thinks "walk" it sets off a chain of movements in the robotic suit that move his legs forward.

And he can control each of the arms, manoeuvring them in three-dimensional space


How easy was it to use?

Thibault, who does not want his surname revealed, was an optician before he fell 15m in an incident at a night club four years ago.

The injury to his spinal cord left him paralysed and he spent the next two years in hospital.

But in 2017, he took part in the exoskeleton trial with Clinatec and the University of Grenoble.

Initially he practised using the brain implants to control a virtual character, or avatar, in a computer game, then he moved on to walking in the suit.

"It was like [being the] first man on the Moon. I didn't walk for two years. I forgot what it is to stand, I forgot I was taller than a lot of people in the room," he said.

It took a lot longer to learn how to control the arms.

"It was very difficult because it is a combination of multiple muscles and movements. This is the most impressive thing I do with the exoskeleton."


How good is the exoskeleton?


The 65kg of sophisticated robotics is not completely restoring function.

However, it is a marked advance on similar approaches that allow people to control a single limb with their thoughts.

Paralysed woman's thoughts control robotic arm
Thibault does need to be attached to a ceiling-harness in order to minimise the risk of him falling over in the exoskeleton - it means the device is not yet ready to move outside the laboratory.

"This is far from autonomous walking," Prof Alim-Louis Benabid, the president of the Clinatec executive board, told BBC News.

"He does not have the quick and precise movements not to fall, nobody on earth does this."

In tasks where Thibault had to touch specific targets by using the exoskeleton to move his upper and lower arms and rotate his wrists, he was successful 71% of the time.

Prof Benabid, who developed deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease, told the BBC: "We have solved the problem and shown the principle is correct. This is proof we can extend the mobility of patients in an exoskeleton.

"This is in [the] direction of giving better quality of life."



What is the next step?


The French scientists say they can continue to refine the technology.

At the moment they are limited by the amount of data they can read from the brain, send to a computer, interpret and send to the exoskeleton in real-time.

They have 350 milliseconds to go from thought to movement otherwise the system becomes difficult to control.

It means out of the 64 electrodes on each implant, the researchers are using only 32.

So there is still the potential to read the brain in more detail using more powerful computers and AI to interpret the information from the brain.

There are also plans to develop finger control to allow Thibault to pick up and move objects.

He has already used the implant to control a wheelchair.



Are there more sinister roles for this technology?


There are scientists investigating ways of using exoskeletons to enhance human abilities, a field known as transhumanism, rather than overcome paralysis.

This includes military applications.

"We are absolutely not going in the direction of these extreme and stupid applications," Prof Benabid told the BBC.

"Our job is to repair the injured patients who have lost function."



What do experts think?


Prof Tom Shakespeare, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said while this study presents a "welcome and exciting advance", proof of concept was a long way from usable clinical possibility.

"A danger of hype always exists in this field. Cost constraints mean that hi-tech options are never going to be available to most people in the world with spinal cord injury."

Only 15% of people with disabilities had a wheelchair or other assistive devices, he said.

Details of the exoskeleton have been published in The Lancet Neurology journal.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×