Paralysed Man Walks Again With Breakthrough Brain Implant

Brain-computer interfaces like Elon Musk's Neuralink have the potential to help people with severe disabilities by letting them control an external device using brain signals. '

In one such example, a man whose legs had been paralysed for a decade because of a spinal cord injury was able to walk again. Owing to the injury, the patient's ability to control movement was affected. With a new implant, communication between the brain and spinal nerves responsible for movement was restored.

Rehabilitation therapy paired with the device has allowed the patient to walk with crutches even when the implant is switched off, IFL Science reported.

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What has the implant done so far?

"We have created a wireless interface between the brain and the spinal cord using brain-computer interface (BCI) technology that transforms thought into action," said Gr¨¦goire Courtine, Professor of Neuroscience at EPFL, CHUV and UNIL in Switzerland, in a statement.

The patient, Gert-Jam Oksam was recruited for the study at the age of 38. 10 years before that, Oksam had sustained a spinal cord injury in a cycling accident that paralysed his legs.

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The treatment was designed to create a "digital bridge" between his brain and the spinal cord. This brain-computer interface implant was inserted above the brain's region that is responsible for controlling leg movements. The device was able to decode electrical signals that correlate to thoughts about walking.

The implant was able to calibrate in just a few minutes. Not much later, Oksam was able to regain some control over the paralysed muscles and results continued to improve.

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For over a year, the implant has remained stable. It has allowed Oksam to stand, walk, climb stairs, and even navigate tricky terrain. The spinal cord, too, has begun to recover as new nerve connection begin to develop.

The study highlighting the implant's success was published in the journal Nature. What do you think about this implant's groundbreaking abilities? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.