The results by the scientist offer hope to people with spinal chord injuries, Lou Gehrig's diesase or other conditions that impair movement may be able to communicate with the outside world.

When the device was to be used technicians plugged a cable connected to a computer into the pedastal. So nagle was directly wired to a computer somewhat like a character in the Matrix movies.

The first person to receive the implant, Matthew Nagle moved a cursor, opened a email, played a simple video game called Pong and drew a crude circle on the screen. He could even change the channel and volume of the TV set.

Nagle a former high school football star in Weymouth, Mass was paralysed below the shoulders after being stabbed in the neck during a melee at a beach in July 2001.

Implants like this one he received has previously worked on monkeys. There have also been some tests of a simpler sensor implant in people. The sensor measures four millimeters by 4 millimeters - less than fifth of an inch long wide and contains 100 tiny electrodes. The device was implanted in the area of Nagle's motor cortex responsible for arm movement and was connected to a pedastal that protruded from the top of his skull.