Walking again after a cycling accident
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Gert-Jan Oskam broke his neck in a cycling accident in 2011. He lost the ability to use his legs and could only partially use his arms. Doctors told him he would never walk again due to a spinal cord injury. Yet twelve years later, at 40 years old, thanks to Onward's breakthrough digital bridging technology, he is making progress and can walk again using a walking device and implants for up to 660 feet a day. Now, Oskam can stand and have a beer with a friend.
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A man paralyzed from the hips down since 2011 can now walk again thanks to implants that provided a “digital bridge” between the man's brain and his spinal cord. This digital bridge bypassed injured sections of the spinal cord, according to the study published today in Nature.
by u/mtoddh in science
Quotes
I feel like a toddler, learning to walk again,
Gert-Jan Oskam
When we met him, he was completely paralyzed, unable to take a step by himself without assistance,
Grégoire Courtine
References
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Brain implants help paralysed man to walk again
A paralysed man has been able to walk simply by thinking about it thanks to electronic brain implants, a medical first he says has changed his life.
BBC
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Motorcycle crash victim can walk and do chores thanks to brain, spine implants
Not one to give up, Oskam underwent years of physical therapy and eventually joined the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s “digital bridge” project, which installed implants into his brain and spine in 2017 that can now connect to an external computer worn as a backpack.
New York Post
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Brain and spine implants enabled a paralyzed man to climb stairs and walk on rough terrain, study shows
The researchers noted that during the study, Oskam regained the ability to walk with crutches even when the technology was turned off. They believe the implant system may have activated pathways in his brain that had gone dormant but were still anatomically intact.
NBC News
