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Raphael ThysA nerve-stimulation device controlled by a touchscreen tablet was recently able to help three completely paralysed patients walk, cycle, and even swim!In a research outlined on Monday, scientists gave a new leash of life of three people who had suffered serious spinal cord injuries that left them paralysed in a region called the "thoracic spine" situated below the neck and above the backMost patients with the nerve-stimulation implant suffered injuries one to nine years before receiving the treatment
A nerve-stimulation device controlled by a touchscreen tablet was recently able to help three completely paralysed patients walk, cycle, and even swim!
In a research outlined on Monday, scientists gave a new leash of life of three people who had suffered serious spinal cord injuries that left them paralysed in a region called the "thoracic spine" situated below the neck and above the back.
Implant for paralysed people
A second chance at life
Most patients with the nerve-stimulation implant suffered injuries one to nine years before receiving the treatment. Science is magical - the patients were able to take their very first steps within an hour of receiving the implant.
Controlled by artificial intelligence software, the implant gave the patients wide-ranging abilities six months after receiving the treatment. They were able to do a lot more than walking, including activities like cycling and swimming in settings outside of the clinic.
Helping people walk
They simply controlled the nerve stimulation device with a touchscreen tablet. All patients are men aged 29, 32, and 41 who suffered spinal cord injuries in road accidents.
Published in the journal Nature Medicine, the study was undertaken by Grégoire Courtine and Jocelyne Bloch of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. A Netherlands-based company called Onward Medical is helping commercialise the system, Reuters reported.
Trials for the nerve implant will begin in the United States in about a year, hoping to give people with injuries a second chance at a normal life.
Helping people walk
Unfortunately, no current treatments are able to help the spinal cord heal itself. But with such tech, people could send signals with a touch of a screen - enabling them to walk, sit, and more.
What do you think about this novel tech to change the lives of people? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.
References
Lapid, N., & Rabinovitch, A. (2022, February 7). Nerve-stimulation device helps paralyzed patients walk, cycle and swim. Reuters.