New `mind-controlled tech` brings hope to paralysed

According to the team that conducted the study, this technique continuously corrects brain readings to give people with spinal cord injuries a more precise way to tap out commands using a thought-controlled keypad.

Researchers said the goal of testing a BCI system is to develop a brain implant that can communicate with electrodes in the legs, however researchers said a noninvasive version allows for better testing of the method.

On his 20th attempt, he was able walk.

The slow, halting first steps of the 28-year-old paraplegic were documented in a preliminary study published on Wednesday in the British-based Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, along with a YouTube video.

The “proof-of-concept” study demonstrated how brain-to-computer technology allowed Fritz to become the first person paralyzed from the waist down to walk without using robotics.

“Even after years of paralysis the brain can still generate robust brain waves that can be harnessed to enable basic walking”, lead researcher Dr. An Do explained in a statement.

Later he practised walking while suspended five centimetres above the ground, so his legs could move freely without having to be supported.

Doctors said that this was the first time that a paralysed person was able to walk without relying on any manually-controlled robotic limbs. This was accomplished after intensive training on both the patient’s legs (building up the muscles that haven’t been used in a long time) and brain (in order for him to produce the proper brain signals needed for walking).

The signals were then picked up by an electroencephalogram (EEG) he wore as a cap and were transmitted to a computer for processing by a special algorithm that could isolate the messages related only to leg motion and convert them to signals that would stimulate the patient’s muscles to walk.

Though optimistic, the scientists are urging caution, noting that the study only involved a single patient and further work must be done before they can conclude whether the promising results will translate to others with paraplegia. The paralyzed man, 26, told Reuters that he underwent physical and mental training to prepare.

Charity Aspire, which supports people with spinal cord injuries, said it was “excited” by the news.

Some of the key elements the study will need to address in the future includes balance and improving the accuracy of the FES device to 100 percent. “The implant could also be used to deliver sensory feedback to the brain, so that the subjects could feel their legs as they are walking”, he said.

“We are in the process of designing an implantable version of the system that can yield brain signals of higher quality and thus facilitate more accurate control”.