26 August 2016

Paraplegics Regain Movement After Using BCIs

Eight people who have spent years paralyzed from spinal cord injuries have regained partial sensation and muscle control in their lower limbs after training with brain-controlled robotics. The patients used brain-machine interfaces, including a virtual reality system that used their own brain activity to simulate full control of their legs. The research led by Duke University academics offers promise for people with spinal cord injury, stroke and other conditions to regain strength, mobility and independence. Several patients saw changes after seven months of training. After a year, four patients' sensation and muscle control changed significantly enough that doctors upgraded their diagnoses from complete to partial paralysis.


Most patients saw improvements in their bladder control and bowel function, reducing their reliance on laxatives and catheters, he said. These changes reduce patients' risk of infections, which are common in patients with chronic paralysis and are a leading cause of death. Brain-machine systems establish direct communication between the brain and computers or often prosthetics, such as robotic limbs. Researchers believe with weekly training, the rehab patients re-engaged spinal cord nerves that survived the impact of the car crashes, falls and other trauma that paralyzed their lower limbs. At the beginning of rehabilitation, five participants had been paralyzed at least five years; two had been paralyzed for more than a decade.

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