Paralyzed people will be able to control the limbs by the power of thought

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    Paralyzed people have a chance to restore the movement of limbs, controlling the power of thought. A group of researchers from Case Western Reserve University developed the first implantable activity recording system and muscle stimulation of the brain, which restores the movement of the arms and hands in patients with paralysis.

    The system includes a neuro-computer interface with recording electrodes embedded in the skull and functional electrical stimulation ( FES ). The first person to experience the technology was the 56-year-old Cleveland resident Bill Kochevar, who was paralyzed below the shoulders as a result of an accident. With it, he restored the movement of arms and hands.


    “Our research is at an early stage, but we believe that this neuroprosthesis can offer people with paralysis the ability to restore hand functions for daily activities. Now this technology allows a paralyzed person to reach the object and take it, that is, it can eat and drink. With further development, technology can give more precise control by expanding the possible range of actions, ”notes study lead author Bolu Ajiboye.

    Experiment with Nomad is part of the BrainGate clinical trial program conducted by a consortium of academic and medical institutions that evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the neuro-computer interface system in people with paralysis. Other BrainGate research has shown that people cancontrol the cursor on a computer screen or a robotic hand .

    Jonathan Miller, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, led a team of surgeons who implanted two 96-channel arrays of electrodes onto the surface of the brain. They then implanted 36 electrodes of the FES systems, which revitalize the muscles in the upper and lower arm.

    Arrays record brain signals when Nomad represents the movement of his wrist or hand as a whole. The neurocomputer interface decodes the recorded information from the brain signals about the movements it intends to perform, and then it is converted by the FES into electrical impulse patterns to control the electrical stimulation system.

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    Pulses sent through the FES electrodes activate the muscles that control the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. To overcome gravity, which otherwise would not allow to raise and stretch a hand, Nomad uses mobile support hands, which is also under the control of his brain.

    Before implantation, Nomad first learned to use his brain signals to move his hands in virtual reality on a computer screen. As Kochevar’s ability to move a virtual hand improved over the next four months of training, the researchers suggested that he would be able to control his arm and hand.

    Eight years of muscle atrophy required rehabilitation. Researchers conducted cyclical procedures for electrical stimulation of Nomad’s hand and hand. In 45 weeks, his strength, range of motion, and endurance improved significantly. When he tried to move his hand, scientists set up stimulation patterns to develop his motor abilities.

    Now the patient can force each joint in the right hand to move individually. Or, just thinking about eating or drinking, he leads the muscles into a consistent movement. When he was asked to describe how he commanded the movement of his hands, Nomad replied: “I make her move without any special effort. I just think about it and it works. ”

    The researchers note that the achievement required for technology to be used outside the laboratory is not too far from reality. Work is underway to create wireless implants for the brain, and researchers are also improving the decoding and stimulation schemes needed to more accurately define movements. FES fully implantable systems have already been developed and are being tested in separate clinical trials.

    BrainGate research technology was originally developed at Brown University in the laboratory of John Donohue, now the founder of the Wyss Center for Bio- and Neuro-Engineering in Geneva. Implantable recording electrodes, known as Utah massifs, were originally designed by Richard Norman, Professor Emeritus of Bioengineering at the University of Utah.

    doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30601-3

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