Paralysed man learns to walk again with the help of brain implants
A paralysed Dutch man's life has been changed forever as he learns to walk again with the help of electronic brain implants.
12 years ago, Gert-Jan Oskam, a 40-year-old Dutch man, was paralysed in a cycling accident, reports BBC.
With the help of the new electronic implants, one in his brain and the other on his spine, he can command his leg and feet to move simply by thinking about it.
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Although these advancements are fairly new and still in the experimental stage, a leading UK spinal charity called it "very encouraging".
"I feel like a toddler, learning to walk again," Mr Oskam told the BBC. He can also now stand and climb stairs.
"It has been a long journey, but now I can stand up and have a beer with my friend. It's a pleasure that many people don't realise."
According to Prof Jocelyne Bloch, of Lausanne University, who is the neurosurgeon who carried out the delicate surgery to insert the implants, stressed that the system was still at a basic research stage and was many years away from being available to paralysed patients.
However, she told BBC News that it was the team's aim to get it out of the lab and into the clinic as soon as possible.
"The important thing for us is not just to have a scientific trial, but eventually to give more access to more people with spinal cord injuries who are used to hearing from doctors that they have to get used to the fact that they will never move again."
Harvey Sihota, chief executive of the UK charity Spinal Research, said that although there was a long way to go before the technology would be generally available, he described the development as "very encouraging", says BBC.
"While there is still much to improve with these technologies this is another exciting step on the roadmap for neurotechnology and its role in restoring function and independence to our spinal cord injury community".
She then inserted two disc-shaped implants which wirelessly transmit brain signals - Gert-Jan's intentions - to two sensors attached to a helmet on his head.
The Swiss team has successfully developed an algorithm which translates signals into instructions to move leg and foot muscles via a second implant inserted around Gert-Jan's spinal cord.
Within a few weeks of training, he was able to stand and walk with the aid of a walker. His movement is slow but smooth, according to Prof Grégoire Courtine of the École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne (EPFL), who led the project.
"Seeing him walk so naturally is so moving," he said. "It is a paradigm shift in what was available before".
Previously, Gert-Jan had only the spinal implant before he had the brain implants.
"I felt before that the system was controlling me, but now I am controlling it".
However, neither the previous or new systems can be used constantly since they are bulky and still at an experimental stage. Currently, patients can use them for an hour or so for a few times a week as part of their recuperation.
Prof Courtine's spin out company Onward Medical, plan to miniaturise the technology so it can be used in people's day-to-day lives.
"It's coming," says Prof Courtine,. "Gert-Jan received the implant 10 years after his accident. Imagine when we apply our brain-spine interface a few weeks after the injury. The potential for recovery is tremendous".
In 2018, David M'Zee became the first patient to be successfully treated with a spinal implant, so much so that he was able to have a baby with his wife, something that had not been possible previously.
