The volunteers were people who had had motorcycle accidents. The aftermath of the accident: they could no longer walk. But technology changed everything. The implant that makes paraplegic people walk is a hope. Thanks to this, they were able to walk again.
Artificial intelligence in vertebrae
A surgical intervention implanted 16 electrodes on their spinal cord. They no longer had movement in his lower extremities. “One day after I started practicing I saw that my legs were moving again. It was a very intense emotion,” explained Michel Rocatti. He is one of three patients.
Neuroscientist Grégoire Courtine and neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch lead the team. The electrodes emit synchronized electrical pulses. They mimic the signals that circulate along the spinal cord. Thus, the spinal cord links the brain to the lower limbs. The electrodes are connected to a computer with an artificial intelligence system. What does it do? It reproduces the impulses needed to walk, ride a special bicycle or paddle a canoe. These are three of the activities that the study participants have managed to perform. The details are published this Monday in Nature Medicine.
“Previously, implants of this type reused electrodes originally designed to treat pain,” Courtine explains. “We have designed for the first time a technology specifically for this purpose. It better synchronizes stimulation with movement. It mimics the actual signals sent by the brain when walking, for example.”
Walking again
The participants were able to stand immediately after the operation. Thus they took their first steps, at first suspended in a harness. Refining the movements took training time.
Thanks to this, spinal injuries are no longer to be considered irreversible. “The results appear within a day, which is explained by the optimal placement of the electrodes,” they explain.
They are now looking for less invasive stimulation systems. Perhaps they can be placed on the skin or even inside the muscles. The implant that makes paraplegic people walk has so far produced spectacular results. The difficulty lies in the fact that each one must be designed specifically for each patient. But the prospects are very positive.
