Gilles Weber/CHUV
Gert-Jan Oskam, 40, received an experimental brain and spinal cord implant.
(CNN) — New research shows how a medical device helped a paralyzed man walk naturally more than a decade after an injury.
dr Grégoire Courtine and colleagues from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne have developed and implanted a ‘brain-spine interface’ that creates a direct neurological connection between the brain and the spinal cord. Implants in the brain track intentions to move, which are transmitted wirelessly to a processing unit that a person wears externally, like a backpack. The intentions are translated into commands that the processing unit sends back via the second implant to stimulate the muscles.
The research, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, outlines successful results for a study participant from the Netherlands.
Gert-Jan Oskam, 40, was paralyzed after a motorcycle accident in China more than a decade ago. His legs were affected, as were his arms and torso.
“My wish was to be able to walk again and I believed it was possible,” Oskam said at a briefing with journalists this week. “I’ve tried a lot of things and now I have to learn to walk normally and naturally again because that’s how the system works.”
Oskam said he could run at least 100 meters (about 330 feet) depending on the day and stand for a few minutes without using his hands. He said it came in handy in his daily life, for example when he recently had something to paint but had no one to help him so he stood there and did it himself.
Previous research has shown that targeted electrical impulses can stimulate areas of the leg necessary for walking.
However, according to the researchers, this new technology allows for smoother movements and better adaptation to changing terrain because it reconnects two regions of the central nervous system that were disrupted due to spinal cord injury.
Jimmy Ravier
“Now I can just do whatever I want, and when I decide to take a step, the stimulation will kick in,” Oskam said.
Oskam had had stimulation devices implanted before, but he had to move to trigger the stimulation.
“Now I can just do whatever I want and if I decide to take a step, the stimulation will kick in,” he said.
Courtine said this stimulation is different because Oskam “has full control over the stimulation parameters, which means he can stop, walk and climb stairs”.
After surgeries to implant the devices, the neurological communication channels were quickly established. Oskam made progress within a day of training.
And the connection remained reliable for over a year, including the time Oskam spent at home. Walking independently with the help of the “digital bridge” also helped him regain enough strength to walk a few steps even when the bridge was switched off.
Oskam was the first participant in the study, but the researchers are confident about future possibilities. This research confirms the possibility of reestablishing a neurological connection between the brain and spinal cord, and the connection is occurring quickly. Expanding this connection could also help people who suffer from arm and hand paralysis or who have suffered a stroke, they say. However, you want to reduce the size of the system to make it more portable.
“The concept of a digital bridge between the brain and spinal cord heralds a new era in the treatment of motor deficits due to neurological disorders,” the researchers write.