The paralyzed patient stood up! Electrodes implanted in the spine help walk, and 3 patients have been living normal lives

Jimu news reporter Hu Li

Michel Roccati, from Italy, lost the ability to walk after a spinal cord injury after a motorcycle accident in 2017, CNN reported on February 7. But now that scientists have implanted electrodes in his spine, Rocardi can stand up and enjoy life like a normal person again. At present, three patients have participated in the experiment and all have returned to normal life.

Michelle Roccati was paralyzed after a motorcycle accident and is now walking with the help of implants. Source: The Guardian

On February 7, local time, the STIMO project led by jocelyn Bloch and Gregor Courtin, two experts from the University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, published a study in the Journal of Nature. Studies have shown that after implanting electrodes on the spine of paralyzed patients, they can resume normal life, such as standing, walking, and cycling.

STIMO is an innovative clinical study in patients with spinal cord injury. It combines precise epidural electrical stimulation of the spinal cord with robotic-assisted motor (walking) modalities to treat paralyzed patients, and researchers can use tablets to initiate a unique electrical pulse sequence that is sent via a pacemaker to an epidural electrode to activate the participants' muscles, while Rokati was one of three men involved in the STIMO clinical trial.

Rokati's epidural space (the area between the vertebrae and the spinal cord) was implanted with 16 electrode devices. These electrodes receive an electric current from a pacemaker implanted under the skin of the abdomen. The researchers say it's the first program that allows paralyzed patients to walk independently on the treadmill just one day after surgery, and with three to four months of practice and training, they slowly adapt and move better and better. After training, one participant can stand for two hours at a time and the other can walk 500 meters independently. Bloch said: "It wasn't perfect at first, but paralysis patients can train to get a more fluid gait. Bloch also expects similar results in women with paralysis who use this treatment.

Dr. Nandan Ladd, a neurosurgeon at Duke University, said, "This very exciting work provides a new treatment option for tens of thousands of patients with spinal cord injury. ”

The team studying STIMO hopes to conduct larger clinical trials in the United States. They estimate that the technology will take three to four years to commercialize. If larger clinical trials are successful, they also hope that the treatment can be included in Medicare.