An implant developed by two researchers has allowed a paralyzed man in the spine to be able to walk again.
The details of this major advance were given in a study published on Monday in the journal
Nature Medicine
.
The work of Grégoire Courtine and Jocelyne Bloch has thus enabled Michel Roccati, paraplegic since 2017 after a motorcycle accident, to get up and walk.
The patient, for this, underwent a surgical operation during which probes were placed at the level of his spine, reports
Numerama
.
The probes stimulate the spinal cord region
The probes were then connected to software capable of sending electrical stimulation into these spinal implants to stimulate a specific region of the spinal cord.
The probes “can modulate the neurons that regulate specific muscle groups,” explains Grégoire Courtine.
“By controlling these implants, we can activate the spinal cord as the brain naturally would so that the patient stands, walks, swims or rides a bike, for example.
»
This device is based on "imitation of nature" by reproducing the usual activation of neurons.
The software used is based on artificial intelligence (AI).
The patient checks the implants himself thanks to a tablet fixed on a walker.
The signals are sent to a pacemaker located in the abdomen and then transmitted to spinal probes.
To walk, the patient must press various buttons.
Michel Roccati has undergone training in order to successfully use this device to climb stairs.
With this test in a real situation, the researchers believe that their system opens "a realistic way" to allow paraplegics to recover some of their mobility.
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