A Medtronic engineered device which is implanted into the spine has restored the ability to move the legs of several paralyzed patient. When the electrical stimulation is turned on, the patients demonstrated the ability to move their legs at will. One of the patients said, " "When I think to move my leg, my toe or my ankles, when I'm turned on I can do it. It's really exciting." "They implant these electrodes just below the sight the injury and stimulate the motor neurons in the spinal cord that would then lead to controlling the muscles in the leg. Their research is determining the optimal stimulation patterns for these 16 electrode arrays," said Dr. Grace C.Y. Peng, program director of rehabilitation for engineering at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at NIH.
RSS Feed