26.05.2023 10:47 Last Updated: 26.05.2023 10:47
Dutch Gert Jan Oskam, 40, was paralyzed 12 years ago in a bicycle accident.
Years later, he walked again thanks to electronic brain implants.
In Switzerland, doctors overcame a stroke by re-establishing vital communication between the spinal cord and the brain.
Implants were placed in the area of the brain responsible for movement and in the spinal cord.
Wireless communication was restored and was able to move. The system lifted Oskam to its feet.
“We do two surgeries, one surgery at the brain level, we do two small craniotomies, we put two electrodes in to record the brain signal. And in the upper part of the spinal cord we place electrodes in the place responsible for leg movement. So there is a communication between the two, an electrical communication, a digital bridge that reactivates the legs.”
The study, which is still in the research phase, has provided hope for people with spinal cord injuries to walk again.