Three people who had suffered a complete spinal injury and were paraplegic now walk again. It has been thanks to a scientific advance, because it has managed to create an implant that stimulates the area of the spinal cord and controls the muscles of the trunk and legs. This implant works from an application that incorporates artificial intelligence.
The pioneers in this advance have been Swiss researchers, who are working on a technique that uses "electrode paddles" designed specifically for spinal cord injuries. What the Swiss team has proposed in its clinical trial, which is still in development, is that individual treatments designed for each patient are more effective than those that are developed in a general way.
The three participants, men between 29 and 41 years old, had lost all ability to move in their lower extremities and trunk. A motorcycle accident had caused his spinal cord to be completely severed.
These implants are placed under the vertebrae, in contact with the spinal cord. These are able to modulate the neurons that regulate the activity of some muscles, such as the legs. Implants in the form of electrodes emit electrical pulses that are synchronized and mimic the signals offered by the spinal cord.
In turn, the electrodes are connected to a computer that incorporates an artificial intelligence system, and which is responsible for reproducing the impulses needed to walk.
"I use it daily for a couple of hours to walk outside and also in my home, so now it is part of my daily life," explained one of the patients. In fact, the system has allowed him to get up and down stairs.
The researchers explained that the interventions to the patients were performed at least one year after the injury and cut of marrow. It is from this period that the situation is considered stable and an optimal level of recovery has been achieved.
On the other hand, they commented that age influences the result of receiving this type of implant. " In general a younger patient is in better condition and is also more motivated, but we have seen patients up to fifty years old who have responded well, so age is a factor that influences, but not excludes," they explained.
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