Dr. Ali Rezai, director of the Ohio State University's Center for Neuromodulation, is working on something that could result in a breakthrough for paraplegic and quadriplegic people.
Recently, he and his team implemented a microchip into the brain of Ian Burkhart, a 24-year-old quadriplegic man from Dublin, Ohio.
The chip "detects his thoughts of movements. Within milliseconds, it makes sense of those thoughts and translates them into an external wearable sleeve, a garment-like device that allows him to move his hands," Rezai told CNBC's "Squawk Alley" on Monday.
"For the first time in five years, he's able to pick up a cup to his mouth, brush his teeth … even swipe a credit card and even play video games."
There are approximately 12,500 spinal cord injuries every year in the U.S., according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center.
However, Rezai said his research is still in its early stages and there are very strict criteria for inclusion in this trial study by the Food and Drug Administration.