New device allows brain to bypass spinal cord, move paralyzed limbs

New device allows brain to bypass spinal cord, move paralyzed limbs

For the first time ever, a paralyzed man can move his fingers and hand with his own thoughts thanks to an innovative partnership between The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Battelle.

Ian Burkhart, a 23-year-old quadriplegic from Dublin, Ohio, is the first patient to use Neurobridge, an electronic neural bypass for spinal cord injuries that reconnects the brain directly to muscles, allowing voluntary and functional control of a paralyzed limb. Burkhart is the first of a potential five participants in a clinical study.

"It's much like a heart bypass, but instead of bypassing blood, we're actually bypassing electrical signals," said Chad Bouton, research leader at Battelle. "We're taking those signals from the brain, going around the injury, and actually going directly to the muscles."

The Neurobridge technology combines algorithms that learn and decode the user's brain activity and a high-definition muscle stimulation sleeve that translates neural impulses from the brain and transmits new signals to the paralyzed limb. In this case, Ian's brain signals bypass his injured spinal cord and move his hand, hence the name Neurobridge.

Burkhart, who was paralyzed four years ago during a diving accident, viewed the opportunity to participate in the six-month, FDA-approved clinical trial at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center as a chance to help others with spinal cord injuries.

"Initially, it piqued my interested because I like science, and it's pretty interesting," Burkhart said. "I've realized, 'You know what? This is the way it is. You're going to have to make the best out of it.' You can sit and complain about it, but that's not going to help you at all. So, you might as well work hard, do what you can and keep going on with life."

This technology has been a long time in the making. Working on the internally-funded project for nearly a decade to develop the algorithms, software and stimulation sleeve, Battelle scientists first recorded neural impulses from an electrode array implanted in a paralyzed person's brain. They used that data to illustrate the device's effect on the patient and prove the concept.

WOW!!!!! This is huge!!!!!!
It's taken some time for them to get to this point but now this opens up the door for many people with paralyzed limbs!!
Dang science is getting amazing! First the glove that teaches you Braille without having to pay attention Wearable computing gloves can teach Braille, even if you're not paying attention and now this!!

To think, if only the church hadn't held back Science all those years ago, we could be much much further ahead. Maybe even a class 1 civilization.

Amazing! bio enhancement hopefully when ready it can be obtainable for many in need...

Nice share OP

NAMASTE*******

originally posted by: knoledgeispower


To think, if only the church hadn't held back Science all those years ago, we could be much much further ahead. Maybe even a class 1 civilization.

I really liked this thread, too bad you had to ruin it with your idiotic notions of church vs science.

originally posted by: PsychoEmperor

originally posted by: knoledgeispower


To think, if only the church hadn't held back Science all those years ago, we could be much much further ahead. Maybe even a class 1 civilization.

I really liked this thread, too bad you had to ruin it with your idiotic notions of church vs science.

What's idiotic about the truth? The Church DID hold back science, it's called The Dark Ages. Science WAS heresy and that is an indisputable FACT

a reply to: knoledgeispower
That's PROGRESS fight ? Now of course we have banks ...

a reply to: PsychoEmperor

I agree with the OP and knoledgeispower, the church did prohibit scientific research for many centuries, so if that [dark ages] never came about, we would be vastly further on in many fields of research.

This story in the OP is fascinating, the implications of this research are mind blowing...not just for its ability to help paralysed people move, I can see it having a wide range of uses in the future.

Now apologise young sir for calling the OP an idiot, he/she is far from it.

Thanks OP.

originally posted by: knoledgeispower
What's idiotic about the truth? The Church DID hold back science, it's called The Dark Ages. Science WAS heresy and that is an indisputable FACT

Not that I disagree the Dark Ages were the responsibility of the Catholic Church but that is a rather Euro-centric viewpoint as the rest of the planet was not subjected to them.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Perhaps, but Europe was largely responsible for scientific progress, especially engineering and technology.

Places like Australia and America didn't exist (as we know them today) until they were colonised by Europeans....after the dark ages.

Pretty sure the rest of the civilisation that did exist at the time were to busy fighting over religion and/or like Europe, put of science because of religion.

Great story, cant wait to see where this goes...

Irish Catholics (monks)risked their lives to try and salvage as much knowledge as possible during the dark ages.

a reply to: knoledgeispower

Good! Bypass it all! The spinal cord it too fallible.

originally posted by: woogleuk
Places like Australia and America didn't exist (as we know them today) until they were colonised by Europeans....after the dark ages.

But places like China and the Arab world did and in some ways they were more advanced than their European counterparts, it still got us now where near the Type 1 Civilization postulated in the Original Post.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

From what I can gather after a quick search, during that period Arabia focussed on medical science rather the tech (which of course plays a heavy part in the OP), and China also flourished in certain areas.

The information I can find seems to suggest that there wasn't enough competing in the various fields though for things to really take off, and once Europe hit the renaissance period, they were all competitive and everything suddenly exploded, leaving Asia and Arabia behind in a lot of areas. Had the renaissance happened instead of the dark ages, centuries earlier, I could easily imagine us being centuries ahead now.

That's amazing. Thank you for sharing.

originally posted by: woogleuk
a reply to: PsychoEmperor

I agree with the OP and knoledgeispower, the church did prohibit scientific research for many centuries, so if that [dark ages] never came about, we would be vastly further on in many fields of research.

This story in the OP is fascinating, the implications of this research are mind blowing...not just for its ability to help paralysed people move, I can see it having a wide range of uses in the future.

Now apologise young sir for calling the OP an idiot, he/she is far from it.

Thanks OP.

I am the OP and yes I am not an idiot (I am a female), thank you for your kind words

Thank you for also defending my claim that science would be more advanced if it wasn't for the Dark Ages.

originally posted by: knoledgeispower

originally posted by: woogleuk
a reply to: PsychoEmperor

I am the OP and yes I am not an idiot (I am a female), thank you for your kind words

Oh yeah....I do apologise, I'm a British person who was overdue going to bed at the point I read this thread...through tired eyes.

You're welcome btw, the dark ages has always peaked my interest as I often wonder where we would be had it not occurred, perhaps we may have even sussed out interstellar travel had superstition not got the better of our ancestors.

Kind of wish the human lifespan was a few hundred years more than it is so we could maybe get an idea of what it would have been like...who knows, at the rate medical science is progressing, maybe some of us the right side of 50 might get that opportunity.

originally posted by: woogleuk

originally posted by: knoledgeispower

originally posted by: woogleuk
a reply to: PsychoEmperor

I am the OP and yes I am not an idiot (I am a female), thank you for your kind words

Oh yeah....I do apologise, I'm a British person who was overdue going to bed at the point I read this thread...through tired eyes.

You're welcome btw, the dark ages has always peaked my interest as I often wonder where we would be had it not occurred, perhaps we may have even sussed out interstellar travel had superstition not got the better of our ancestors.

Kind of wish the human lifespan was a few hundred years more than it is so we could maybe get an idea of what it would have been like...who knows, at the rate medical science is progressing, maybe some of us the right side of 50 might get that opportunity.

No worries

I too wonder where we would be if it wasn't for the Dark Ages. Maybe we'd be like The Jetsons or a class 1 civilization.

I think if we had more time to think & ponder things instead of having to be slaves to work we could advance even faster