“Paraplegic walks again thanks to groundbreaking brain and spinal cord technologies”

2023-05-24 13:19:43

A paraplegic walks thanks to two technologies implanted in his brain and spinal cord

A paraplegic has regained normal control of the ability to walk by thinking, a feat achieved for the first time thanks to the combination of two technologies that restored the connection between the brain and spinal cord.

With the words “I have regained some freedom,” the patient, Gert Jan – who did not want to mention his last name – summed up his feeling, as this 40-year-old Dutch man, who suffers from a spinal cord injury at the level of the cervical vertebrae as a result of a bicycle accident ten years ago, is now able to years, to stand and move around in various spaces and even to climb stairs, according to what was confirmed by the French Press Agency.

“At first, the man could not put one foot in front of the other,” said Jocelyn Block, a Swiss surgeon and professor at the University Medical Center Fu.

Patient Gert Yan after being able to walk (EPA)

Before him, walking became possible again for a number of other patients who could not move their legs. But Block explained that this man was the first to regain the ability to control the movement of his legs and the rhythm of his steps by thinking.

And it was possible to reach this achievement by combining two technologies implanted in his brain and spinal cord, as explained to the French Press Agency, researcher Guillaume Charvier from the Commission for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies, which is one of the parties participating in the project, whose results were published in detail yesterday (Wednesday) in the journal « Nature.”

This achievement was the result of ten years of research conducted by teams in France and Switzerland.

The spinal cord protected by the spine is an extension of the brain and controls a large number of movements, and damage to the brain connection leads to the inability to carry out these movements in an irreparable way.

In an attempt to address this problem, electrodes developed by the Commission for Atomic and Alternative Energy were implanted in the paralyzed patient over the area of ​​the brain responsible for leg movements.

These electrodes allow the decoding of electrical signals generated by the brain when a person is thinking about walking. At the same time, a nerve stimulator attached to a field of electrodes was placed over the area of ​​the spinal cord that controls the movement of the legs.

Thanks to algorithms based on AI methods, movement intentions can be decoded in real time from brain recordings.

These intentions are then converted into electrical sequences to stimulate the spinal cord, which in turn activates the leg muscles to achieve the desired movement.

The data is transmitted via a portable system that is placed on a treadmill or in a small backpack, allowing the patient to do so without outside assistance.

So far, a single implant that electronically stimulates the spinal cord has allowed paraplegics to walk again. But controlling this gait was not natural.

As for this time, what is new is that the digital bridge that was established between the brain and the spinal cord not only allowed Gert Yan to move, but also enabled him to voluntarily control his movements and their extent.

“The matter is fundamentally different from what has been reached so far,” said the French neuroscientist, professor of neuroscience at the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Gregoire Courtine. He explained that «the previous patients were walking with great effort, but now the patient only needs to think about walking in order to take a step».

Gert Yan while entering a hall to attend a press conference to discuss his condition (AFP)

Guillaume Charvais of the Commission for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies said, “These results indicate that establishing a link between the brain and spinal cord would promote the reorganization of neural circuits.”

And when Charvih was asked whether this technology would be within the reach of all those who need it soon, he replied that “it will take research for several years before it is circulated.”

However, the teams are beginning to prepare to launch an experiment to restore the function of the arms and hands using the same technique. The researchers also hope to apply it to other clinical conditions, including paralysis caused by stroke.