A quadriplegic can use their arm to grab objects and feed themselves with an innovative neuroprosthesis,
Bill Kochevar is 56 years old. Since a bicycle accident ten years ago, he has been quadriplegic, injured in the fourth cervical vertebra and paralyzed from the shoulders. This American participated in a study published in the Lancet with spectacular results: the man can again use his arm and his right hand to eat or drink, thanks to a new neuroprosthesis described as a medical “first” by researchers.
On his head, Bill Kochevar wears two boxes; in his brain, 192 microelectrodes were surgically implanted. They record the signals that his gray matter sends when he imagines moving his arm and hand.
“Cables”
Thanks to a system of “wiring”, the researchers were thus able to restore the movement of the arm controlled by the thought. The device bypasses the injury to the spine by using wires, electrodes and computer software to reconnect his brain and muscles in his paralyzed arm.
With this experimental device, his muscles receive instructions through 36 electrodes implanted in his arm and forearm: he can use it to drink a sip of coffee, scratch his nose and eat mashed potatoes. of land, specify the authors.
“To our knowledge, this is the world’s first example of a person with total, complete paralysis,” using thought directly to move the arm and hand to perform “functional movements,” the co-author said. of the Bolu Ajiboye study, quoted by AFP.
A method to replicate
Bill Kochevar received his intracerebral implants at the end of 2014. He is also equipped with a movable support arm, under the control of his brain, which helps him overcome gravity that would prevent him from raising his arm so that his hand can. grab fork and mug.
Previous research relied on similar elements of neuroprosthesis. Last year, the case of a young American was reported. He had managed to use his hand through a brain-computer interface, but he suffered from less severe paralysis, according to the authors of the new study.
To date, the treatment cannot be used outside a laboratory, however, the authors stress. Much remains to be done before generalizing neuroprostheses, including the miniaturization of devices which must be cheap and robust in order to be widely accessible. The movements are still slow and rough, but for Bill Kochevar, “being able to move just that little bit is awesome,” he said.
.