New research reveals how a medical device helped one man with paralysis walk naturally again, more than a decade after an injury.
Dr. Grégoire Courtine and colleagues from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne developed and implanted a “brain-spine interface” that creates a direct neurological link between the brain and spinal cord. Implants in the brain track intentions for movement, which are wirelessly transferred to a processing unit that a person wears externally, like a backpack. The intentions are translated into commands that the processing unit sends back through the second implant to stimulate muscles.
The research findings, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, outline successful outcomes for one study participant from the Netherlands.
