Paralyzed man walks naturally, thanks to wireless ‘bridge’ between brain and spine
Wednesday, May 24, 2023 - 11:12
in Health & Medicine
Gert-Jan Oskam lost the ability to walk in 2011 when he injured his spine in a cycling accident in China. Six years later, the Dutch man managed to take a few short steps thanks to a small array of electrodes implanted on top of his spinal cord that delivered nerve-stimulating pulses of electricity. The device allowed him to walk, but the process was stilted and sometimes frustrating. Today in Nature , an international team of researchers reports giving Oskam a better fix, a way to digitally bridge the communication gap between his brain and lower body . Brain waves signaling Oskam’s desire to walk travel from a device implanted in his skull to the spinal stimulator,...