Neurosurgeons at the University of Washington School of Medicine have implanted a device they hope will help stroke patients recover lost function by stimulating their brains to rewire.
The device was implanted July 22, 2025, in a 52-year-old man who over the past years had several strokes that severely affected his ability to use his arm and leg. The patient recovered partial use of the limbs with rehabilitation, but the improvement was limited.
“People often get some function back after a stroke, but not all,” said neurosurgeon Jeffrey Ojemann, vice chair for discovery and professor of neurological surgery at the UW School of Medicine and the study’s co-principal investigator. “We want to see whether by stimulating the brain during rehabilitation sessions we can help them regain more function.”
