AI-powered ‘digital bridge’ enables paraplegic patients to walk

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A ‘digital bridge’ that uses artificial intelligence to decode brain signals has allowed a paraplegic patient to walk just thinking about moving his legs, stoking hopes that neurotechnology could finally help millions of people overcome disabilities.

Swiss researchers implanted an electronic device in the patient’s skull over the region of the brain responsible for controlling leg movements. Using algorithms based on adaptive TO THE methods, “movement intentions are decoded in real time from brain recordings,” said Guillaume Charvet, head of brain-computer interface research at France’s public research body CEA.

These signals are then transmitted wirelessly to a neurostimulator attached to an electrode array on the part of the spinal cord that controls leg movement below the injury site, said Jocelyne Bloch, neurosurgeon on the project.

Researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Swiss hospitals have published their findings in nature on Wednesday. The breakthrough will allow doctors to bypass damaged nerves and boost treatment for a range of neurological disorders including stroke, the researchers said, though they caution that much research and development will be needed to miniaturize and improve technology, reduce production costs and carry out large clinical trials.

Gert-Jan Oskam, the first patient fitted with the digital bridge, said he regained natural control over the movement of his limbs, allowing him to walk and climb stairs or simply share a beer with friends standing in a bar.

“This simple pleasure represents a significant change in my life,” Oskam said.

The EPFL team has previously used a more complex procedure to restore mobility to people paralyzed by spinal cord injury. Patients specified desired movements, such as standing, walking or pedaling, by pressing keys on a small tablet, which then relayed instructions to a set of electrodes implanted in the lower spinal cord. These stimulated nerve cells to initiate movement in the appropriate muscles.

Oskam, a Dutch man whose spine was injured 11 years ago in a bicycle accident, has been upgraded to the new digital bridge from the previous system. “This looks radically different,” he said. “Before I felt the stimulation was controlling me, now I control the stimulation myself. I can take steps that feel natural. The new system does not rely on instructions from an external computer.

When Oskam used the digital bridge, his brain and nervous system adapted to it, forming new connections that allowed him to walk on crutches even when the spinal implant was off.

Although the digital bridge has so far only been tested on Oskam, the researchers are in the process of expanding the clinical trial, initially to three new patients and then to many more. They expressed confidence that the technology would work in other applications if the location of the implants were changed. For example, hand and arm mobility could be restored in people with paralyzed upper limbs and disability reduced in stroke patients.

‘The concept of a digital bridge between the brain and the spine heralds a new era in the treatment of motor deficits due to neurological disorders,’ concludes the Nature paper.

Forward medicala company based in the Netherlands and founded by Bloch with EPFL neuroscience professor Grégoire Courtine is commercializing the digital bridge technology.