Electrode implants in spine help paralyzed man walk again

After surgeons inserted electrodes in his spine to stimulate his muscles, a man who was paralysed in a motorbike accident in 2017 regained the ability to walk.

Michel Roccati lost all feeling and function in his legs following a car accident that severed his spinal cord, but he can stand and walk owing to electrical stimulation managed remotely from a tablet.

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The electrical implant enabled Roccati and two other patients, all males aged 29 to 41, to stand, walk, ride a bike, and even kick their legs in a swimming pool, boosting hopes that tiny, implantable devices may help paralysed individuals regain mobility.

Rocatti incorporates the gadget into his regular training and therapy to help strengthen his muscles and stay healthy. “It’s now a part of my daily existence,” he says.

The device, developed by Prof Grégoire Courtine, a neuroscientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, and Prof Jocelyne Bloch, a neurosurgeon at Lausanne University Hospital, use a soft, flexible electrode placed on top of the spinal cord nerves, beneath the vertebrae.

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The electrode sends electrical pulses to the spinal cord nerves, which regulate various muscles in the legs and torso. The pulses are then controlled by software on a tablet, which sends instructions for a specific motion, such as standing, walking, cycling, or kicking the legs while swimming.

All three patients were able to stand within hours of the procedure thanks to the gadget, although their performance improved after three to four months of practice and training. “It wasn’t ideal at first, but they could train very early to have a more fluid stride,” Bloch said. She went on to say that she expected similar results among women.

“We’ve been able to target patients with the most severe spinal cord injuries because of this technology,” Courtine added. “By regulating these implants, we can trigger the spinal cord in the same way that the brain would in order for the patient to stand, walk, swim, or ride a bike.”

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The patients are undergoing a training regimen that has allowed them to recover lost muscle and move about more independently, even standing and drinking at a bar. The individual picks the relevant option from their tablet to do a certain movement.

The tablet then communicates with a pacemaker-like device placed in their belly, which transmits impulses to the implanted electrode. This stimulates the various muscle groups at the appropriate timing and length, for example, to push up into a standing position or swing the legs to walk. The system’s details have been published in Nature Medicine.