Electrical stimulation allows people with paralysis to walk again 0:51

(CNN) -- New research reveals how a medical device helped a paralyzed man walk naturally again, more than a decade after suffering an injury.

Dr. Grégoire Courtine and colleagues at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne developed and implanted a "brain-marrow interface" that creates a direct neurological link between the brain and spinal cord. Brain implants record movement intentions, which are transmitted wirelessly to an external processing unit, such as a backpack. The intentions are translated into commands that the processing unit returns through the second implant to stimulate the muscles.

• New spinal cord stimulation study gets people with paralysis walking again

The findings of the research, published Wednesday in the academic journal Nature, describe the good results obtained by one of the participants in the study, from the Netherlands.

Gert-Jan Oskam, 40, was paralyzed after a motorcycle accident in China more than a decade ago. His legs, arms and trunk were damaged.

"My desire was to walk again, and I believed it was possible," Oskam said at a briefing to reporters this week. "I tried a lot of things before, and now I have to learn to walk normally again, naturally, because that's how the system works."

Oskam said he can walk at least 100 meters, depending on the day, and stand hands-free for a few minutes. He says he finds it useful in his daily life, like when he recently had to paint something, but he had no one to help him, so he stood up and did it himself.

advertising

Previous research has shown that directed electrical pulses can stimulate areas of the leg needed for walking.

But this new technology allows for smoother movements and better adaptations to changing terrains because it reconnects two regions of the central nervous system that were disrupted by spinal cord injury, according to the researchers.

"Now I can do whatever I want, and when I decide to take a step, the stimulation will kick in," says Oskam. Credit: Jimmy Ravier

Oskam had had stimulation devices implanted before, but had to make a movement for the stimulation to activate.

"Now I can do whatever I want, and when I decide to take a step, the stimulation kicks in," he explains.

Courtine said this stimulation is different because Oskam has "full control over the stimulation parameter, which means he can stop, he can walk, he can climb stairs."

• Watch a paralyzed man walk again thanks to implant

After surgical interventions to implant the devices, neurological communication channels were quickly established. Oskam was already taking steps with a day of training.

And the connection has remained reliable for more than a year, including the time Oskam spent at home. Walking independently with the help of the "digital bridge" has also helped him regain enough strength to take a few steps even when he is off.

Oskam was the first participant in the trial, but researchers are hopeful about future possibilities. This research validates the possibility of recreating a neurological link between the brain and spinal cord, and the connection occurs quickly. Expanding the scope of that connection could also help people with arm and hand paralysis or who have suffered a stroke, they say. But they would like to reduce the size of the system to make it more portable.

"The concept of a digital bridge between the brain and spinal cord portends a new era in the treatment of motor deficits due to neurological disorders," the researchers write.

ImplantParalysis