Paralysed man able to walk again through power of thought

The development, published in the journal Nature, was led by Swiss researchers, and sees the brain implants wirelessly transmit the man’s thoughts between the brain and his spinal cord, bypassing the injured sections,  through a helmet he wears, to his legs and feet via a second implant on his spine nerve endings related to walking.

The operation lead by neurosurgeon prof Jocelyne Bloch of Lausanne University saw two 5cm in diameter circular holes cut into each side of the man’s skull, above the regions of the brain involved in controlling movement. She then inserted two disc-shaped implants which wirelessly transmit brain signals to two sensors attached to a helmet on his head. An algorithm was also developed to help translate these signals into instructions to move leg and foot muscles.

Prof Grégoire Courtine, who led the project, insists this latest development builds on his earlier work, when only the spinal implant was used to restore movement. The spinal implant amplified weak signals from the brain to the damaged part of the spinal column and was boosted further by pre-programmed signals from a computer.

Although prof Bloch had stressed that the system was still many years away from being available to paralysed patients, prof Courtine is encouraged about what the results mean for the future of this technology.

The 40-year-old subject was paralysed in a cycling accident 12 years ago. 10 years ago, he received the implant. “Imagine when we apply our brain-spine interface a few weeks after the injury. The potential for recovery is tremendous". prof Courtine said of the development.

Despite this delay, researchers found that the man could walk with the aid of a walker after just a few weeks of training. The man previously only had the spinal implant, but has reported better control since having the brain implants installed. More than a year after the implant was inserted, he has retained these abilities and has showed signs of neurological recovery, walking with crutches even when the implant was switched off.

Because the systems currently remain cumbersome, patients use them for a couple of hours a few times a week as part of their recuperation training their muscles and potentially regrowing nerves. Prof Courtine, however, plans to miniaturise the technology in his plans for his company to commercialise the technology.

In 2018, David M'Zee became the first patient to be successfully treated with a spinal implant, enabling him to even make a baby with his wife, something previously not possible and last year Michel Roccati became the first man with a completely severed spine to walk again.