Scientists from Duke University in Durham (USA) have developed a technique that allows partially restoring paralyzed disabled people the ability to walk independently. According to RIA Novosti, the device they created can, by receiving the necessary signals from the brain, control the work of the muscles in the arms and legs. The stimulation is based on the recruitment of intact nerve fibers in the spinal cord that have been reactivated.
The new technique, in contrast to previously developed methods of neuroprosthetics, does not require the installation of special microchip electrodes in the brain or in peripheral nerve fibers. American neurophysiologists, having studied the results of stimulating a partially damaged spinal cord with electric and magnetic fields, were able to reveal the characteristics of the signals that the brain transmits to the limbs when making movements. Based on this, scientists have created a system that combines electrodes placed on the surface of the skin at certain points on the patient's back (they stimulate the work of the intact part of the spinal cord) and microchips that receive signals from the centers of movement in the brain using an electroencephalograph.
The device, developed by American scientists, was successfully tested on two paralyzed disabled people who, as a result of injuries suffered 5 and 10 years ago, lost the ability to walk. Thanks to the new device, they took several steps on their own. In addition, neurophysiologists have strengthened their stimulator with special bracelets that were attached to the patients' hands and produced additional vibration signals.
Roev Oleg