{"id":1297580,"date":"2023-05-25T15:10:55","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T19:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/man-paralyzed-for-12-years-walks-again-thanks-to-brain-spinal-cord-implants\/1297580\/"},"modified":"2023-05-25T15:10:55","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T19:10:55","slug":"man-paralyzed-for-12-years-walks-again-thanks-to-brain-spinal-cord-implants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/man-paralyzed-for-12-years-walks-again-thanks-to-brain-spinal-cord-implants\/1297580\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Paralyzed For 12 Years Walks Again Thanks To Brain, Spinal Cord Implants"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Man Paralyzed For 12 Years Walks Again Thanks To Brain, Spinal Cord Implants<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

A paralyzed man has been able to walk again\u00a0for the first time in years\u00a0simply by using the power of his mind thanks to implants fitted in his brain and spinal cord.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gert-Jan Oskam, a 40-year-old Dutchman, was paralyzed in his legs and partially paralyzed in his arms following\u00a0a cycling accident 12 years ago during which he suffered\u00a0spinal cord damage.<\/p>\n

He was told he would never walk again.<\/p>\n

However, after being fitted with a device called a \u201cbrain\u2013spine interface,\u201d Oskam regained the ability to voluntarily move his legs and feet just by thinking about it, according to a study<\/a> published May 24 in the journal Nature.<\/p>\n

He can now\u00a0stand, climb stairs, and even traverse complex terrains with the help of a walking aid, according to researchers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like a toddler, learning to walk again<\/strong>,\u201d Oskam told the BBC<\/a>. \u201cIt has been a long journey, but now I can stand up and have a beer with my friend. It\u2019s a pleasure that many people don\u2019t realize.\u201d<\/p>\n

An international team of researchers, led by\u00a0Dr.\u00a0Gr\u00e9goire Courtine, Professor Jocelyne Bloch, and others from the\u00a0Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, fitted\u00a0Oskam with the\u00a0brain\u2013spine interface, which works by creating a direct link between \u201ccortical signals\u00a0and the analogue modulation of epidural electrical stimulation targeting the spinal cord regions involved in the production of walking,\u201d according to researchers.<\/p>\n

How the Device Works<\/h2>\n

Put simply, the device restored the\u00a0neurological link between the brain and the spinal cord, which is typically severed during accidents such as Oskam\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The device was implanted into\u00a0Oskam\u2019s skull, meaning it is not visible to the naked eye. When Oskam thinks about walking, the implant detects\u00a0electrical activity in the cortex, the outer layer of the brain, and sends brain waves wirelessly to a computer that Oskam wears in a backpack.<\/p>\n

The information is then transmitted to a pulse generator inserted into his spinal cord, effectively switching on muscles and allowing him to produce specific movements.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Gert-Jan Oskam, 40, victim of a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed, poses with his implants that allows him to walk naturally during a press conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, on May 23, 2023. (Fabrice Coffrini\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Oskam also underwent around\u00a040 rehabilitation sessions using the brain\u2013spine interface, after which he\u00a0regained the ability to voluntarily move his legs and feet.<\/p>\n

Researchers believe\u00a0Oskam\u2019s movements would not have been possible with\u00a0spinal stimulation alone and that the training sessions \u201cprompted further recovery in nerve cells\u201d which were\u00a0not completely severed during his injury.<\/p>\n

As well as being able to walk while using the device,\u00a0Oskam can also walk short distances without the device, provided he uses\u00a0crutches.<\/p>\n

Read more here…<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nThu, 05\/25\/2023 – 18:20<\/span><\/p>\n

From:Zerohedge<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Man Paralyzed For 12 Years Walks Again Thanks To Brain, Spinal Cord Implants Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), A paralyzed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1297580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1297580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297580\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1297580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1297580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1297580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}