A refreshing brain-computer interface technology created by researchers at University of California has made walking for a paraplegic man possible. This brain to computer technology translates thoughts into leg movements and enabled a man paralyzed from waist down to become the first ever patient to walk without the use of robotics as reported in Reuters.
The 28 year old paraplegic had his careful slow steps documented on video and posted on Youtube. This was part of a preliminary study published in British-based Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. The technology that researchers designed used a system that allows the brain to bypass the spinal cord and directly sends messages through a computer algorithm to electrodes placed around the patient's knees to trigger leg movements.
This outcome marks a promising and an incremental achievement in the development of brain-computer interface technology. Researchers hope that one day, this technology may help stroke and spinal injury victims regain some mobility.
However, Dr. Ann Do, co-author of the study said that they are still far from having this applied clinically. Results of the University of California Irvine research still need to be replicated in other patients and need to be refined as well. Yet, the study proved it possible to "restore intuitive, brain-controlled walking after a complete splinal cord injury" as said by Zoran Nenadic, lead author and a biochemical engineer.
The experiment's subject, former graduate student Adam Fritz, injured his back in a motorcycle accident. His weight was partially supported by an overhead suspension harness while he walked himself over a distance of 3.6 meters. The weight support was needed as the patient lacked any sensation. For about five years, Fritz has undergone mental training, thinking about walking to produce necessary leg-moving brain waves.
Those signals are picked up by an electroencephalogram (EEG) he wears as a cap. A computer processes this through a special algorithm that could select messages related only to leg motion and convert them to signals that will stimulate the patient's muscles to move.
Researchers hope to fine tune the technology, developing a smaller version that can be implanted inside the skull or brain. However, letting a paraplegic man walk without the use of robotics is already a great achievement itself.
