Technology again at the service of health. New research published in the journal Nature Medicine reports the cases of three paraplegics who have been able to walk, swim and ride a bicycle for the first time after receiving a revolutionary electrical spinal cord implant. One of them has even been able to become a father with the help of this device that works by stimulating the region of the spinal cord that activates the muscles of the trunk and legs.
Walking one day after the implant
Within hours of being operated on with the system developed by Swiss neuroscientists, the three men between the ages of 29 and 41, who were completely paralyzed from the waist down, were able to stand up and take their first steps. That’s how effective this device is. After three to four months of neurorehabilitation training, they were able to walk outdoors with a walker thanks to greater voluntary control over their muscle movements.
The system is designed for people with the most severe spinal cord injuries, said Grégoire Courtine, a neuroscientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and co-director of the study. And it could be potentially effective for anyone (male or female) with a spinal cord injury above the level of the lower rib cage.
A soft, flexible electrode placed over the nerves in the spinal cord
Previous research has shown that continuous stimulation of the thoracic spine can restore movement in people with spinal cord injuries, but gains have been hampered by the fact that the electrode arrays used were not fine enough to target to specific nerves. The new, much more sophisticated system does allow full control over the neurons that regulate specific muscles in the body. Known as epidural electrical stimulation (ESS), the technique involves stimulating the spinal nerves using an array of implanted electrodes that correspond to the spinal nerve roots. The electrode sends electrical pulses to nerves in the spinal cord that control different muscles in the legs and torso.
And, in turn, software allows patients to wirelessly select – via a tablet – activity-specific stimulation programs that activate the nerves needed for a particular type of movement (depending on whether they want to walk, ride canoe or swim); just as the brain would do naturally.
“Our new implanted soft leads are designed to be placed under the vertebrae, directly over the spinal cord. They can modulate the neurons that regulate specific muscle groups”, explains Courtine.
Michel Roccati, one of the patients, was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident in 2017 and now wears the implanted device for 1-2 hours a day, even for walks alone. You can also stand for 2 hours, ride a bike and even swim by choosing different stimulation programs.
Referencia: Rowald, A., Komi, S., Demesmaeker, R. et al. Activity-dependent spinal cord neuromodulation rapidly restores trunk and leg motor functions after complete paralysis. Nat Med (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01663-5
