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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