Brain Implant Trial Renews Hope for Stroke Survivors: UW Medicine Reports Life-Changing Motor Recovery
Key Insights
A 59-year-old stroke (search) survivor regained left-hand function after receiving an investigational brain implant delivering plasticity-inducing cortical stimulation at UW Medicine.
The patient, paralyzed in his left arm since 2021, can now play piano scales, chop vegetables, zip his jacket, and tie his shoes after three months of combined therapy.
Researchers have implanted the device in a third patient and plan to seek FDA guidance after four participants to expand the study's reach.
A second patient enrolled in a pioneering brain-stimulation trial at the University of Washington School of Medicine (search) has achieved what his clinical team describes as "life-changing progress," regaining motor function in a hand paralyzed since a 2021 stroke (search).
Keith McKenzie, a 59-year-old former chef and lifelong musician from Lynden, Washington, underwent surgery in January 2026 at Harborview Medical Center to receive an investigational implant designed to deliver plasticity-inducing cortical stimulation — electrical impulses that encourage neurons to fire together and promote neural rehabilitation.
McKenzie's stroke (search) had left his left arm and hand immobile, preventing him from playing music, cooking, working, or performing daily activities without his wife's assistance. "My rehab had plateaued," McKenzie said. "I was disappointed, but I figured what I have is what I've got."
From Immobility to Playing Scales
The trial, led by Dr. Jeffrey Ojemann, professor of neurological surgery, and Dr. Jeffrey Herron, associate professor of neurological surgery at UW Medicine, required McKenzie to undergo six weeks of intensive physical therapy following implantation. During this period, the device was calibrated to emit electrical impulses timed to his rehabilitation exercises.
McKenzie described the daily sessions as exhausting, likening them to "boot camp." Physical and occupational therapist Adrià Robert Gonzales held up his left arm while McKenzie willed his fingers to move hundreds of times at a piano keyboard. In the first month, he could not form a pincer grasp or pick up a pencil.
Three months later, the results have been dramatic. McKenzie is now slowly playing scales on the keyboard with his left hand — keeping his arm aloft without assistance — and has regained the ability to cut vegetables, zip his jacket, and tie his shoes. "I hadn't chopped a head of lettuce in four years," said McKenzie, who previously worked as a chef.
Extended Monitoring and Future Expansion
McKenzie has now entered the study's "extended monitoring" phase, during which neural data continues to be collected but the device no longer delivers stimulation. He continues to make progress independently, and the implant is scheduled for removal in approximately nine months.
The device has recently been implanted in a third patient, and the research team is actively recruiting a fourth participant. After gathering data from these initial four subjects, the researchers intend to present their findings to the Food and Drug Administration with the goal of expanding the study.
Ojemann acknowledged that the path to incorporating this device into standard rehabilitation therapy will require many years of testing and regulatory approval. "We are so enthusiastic about the progress of our first two study patients and hope to make this widely available in the future," he said.
Broader Therapeutic Potential
Beyond stroke (search) rehabilitation, the research team sees broader applications for the technology. "We believe this approach has the potential to help people with spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries and movement disorders like Parkinson's disease (search)," Herron said. "It's incredibly exciting to unlock function in patients who have lost hope."
More than 795,000 people in the U.S. experience strokes each year, and while most survive, the majority live with enduring disability for years. For McKenzie, the trial has opened a door he thought had closed. "Now I can look at the future and imagine playing music with two hands again," he said. "It will take some work, but it will come."