Australian scientists present ‘bionic spinal cord’ designed to help paralysed patients walk again
The device could record high-quality signals emitted from the brain’s motor cortex, without the need for open brain surgery.
Australian researchers have created a “bionic spinal cord” they said on Tuesday could give paralysed people hope of walking again through the power of thought, without resorting to open brain surgery.
The system would use a device the size of a paper-clip implanted in a blood vessel next to the brain.
The stent-based electrode would record the brain activity needed for movement and this would be translated into commands to control wheelchairs, exoskeletons, prosthetic limbs or computers.
“We have been able to create the world’s only minimally invasive device that is implanted into a blood vessel in the brain via a simple day procedure, avoiding the need for high risk open brain surgery,” researcher Thomas Oxley said.
We have been able to create the world’s only minimally invasive device that is implanted into a blood vessel in the brain
Oxley, a neurologist at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and research fellow at The Florey Institute of Neurosciences and the University of Melbourne, described the device, or stentrode, as revolutionary.