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Scientists from Switzerland have developed an implant that allows people with a severed spinal cord to walk

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Scientists from Switzerland have developed an implant that allows people with a severed spinal cord to walk

PantherMedia

Rehabilitation

Researchers in Lausanne, Switzerland, have developed an implant that allows people with a severed spinal cord to walk. The first patient to whom it was implanted is a man who suffered a spinal injury as a result of a motorbike accident, losing his ability to walk. His lower body was completely paralysed.

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A group of Swiss scientists helped him get back on his feet by inserting a special nerve stimulation device into his body.

- In the past, electrodes were used to treat pain. But now we have developed implants that are longer and wider. This allows us to reach all the motor nerves in the legs and pelvic muscles," says Grégoire Courtine from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.

How the implant works

- In a healthy person, a message from the brain passes through the spinal cord and activates a group of motor neurons that move specific muscles. This is something we don't even think about. It comes automatically," explains Jocelyne Bloch, a neurosurgeon at Lausanne University Hospital.

However, after a spinal cord injury, signals from the brain cannot reach the nerves. So the abdominal technology, which sends electrical impulses towards the nerves, works well for people with disabilities. This in turn leads to muscle stimulation. They control the work of the trunk and legs.

- This is not easy. Patients still have to work with weight and understand what is happening, but they can activate their legs immediately. And the more they train, the more they start to build muscle and a smoother movement," adds the neurosurgeon.

The movements are controlled remotely using artificial intelligence. Users will be able to download the software to their smartphone. The app gives them a choice of activities they want to perform with their body. Spinal cord treatment itself does not yet exist, so experts are still looking for ways to at least partially restore natural movements to paralysed people.

The Swiss want to start a study in this area within a year, which is expected to involve up to 100 patients.