MikeLigalig.com

By Meera Senthilingam, CNN
Updated 1808 GMT (0208 HKT) November 9, 2016


(CNN) A new form of brain implant could one day help people with paraplegia regain control of their legs, based on a new study proving its potential in paralyzed monkeys.

Researchers at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland were able to restore movement in the legs of two paralyzed rhesus macaques within two weeks of them being injured; one regained mobility after just six days.

In the study, published Wednesday, two wireless implants worked together as a "brain-spine interface" to communicate nerve signals between the brains and spines of the monkeys -- where each implant was positioned.

The implants communicated with each other through a computer and enabled brain signals to jump over the point of injury along the spine.

By resuming this once-broken path of communication, the signals can arrive in the spine, and the resulting nerve stimulation means specific muscles within the legs of the two monkeys could be activated as needed on the brain's command.

"What's key here is that we stimulate to induce the desired movement of the animal," said Grégoire Courtine, professor of neural engineering at EPFL, who led the research. "Over the past decade, we've spent a lot of energy understanding how the spinal cord can be stimulated."

Similar research has been conducted in the past, with Courtine's team showing it could give paralyzed rats the ability to walk again, and even climb stairs, in previous studies. Other research groups have used electrodes and brain implants to restore movement in humans, both through their muscles as well as through prosthetic arms and legs.

But this new research in monkeys is the first to record brain activity and link this to nerves within the spinal cord itself. "The brain is in control," Courtine said.

It's also the first to go wireless.

The team now hopes the technology could one day be used in humans, but this will be no easy feat. "The idea is to go step-by-step," said Courtine.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=83178.0