¦ March 8, 2010
SCIENTIFIC UPDATE
Exciting Breakthroughs Reported

Exciting breakthroughs are being reported in the fields of computer-assisted movement, bionics and treatment for spinal cord injury.

A recent article in Parade magazine discussed clinical trials regarding mechanized leg braces for assisted walking (http://www.parade.com/health/2010/02/14-prescription-hope-restoring-the-power-to-walk.html).  This technology, called ReWalk, was developed by Amit Goffer, an Israeli engineer and entrepreneur who happens to be a paraplegic himself.  Currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States, ReWalk may have the potential to enable a paraplegic to make his or her way more easily through the day.

The novelty of ReWalk is in the unique manner in which the user is actively involved in the walk-restoration and other mobility functions, through the control processes. Utilizing sophisticated algorithms, upper-body motions are analyzed and used to trigger and maintain walk (gait) patterns and other modes of operation (such as stair-climbing and shifting from sitting to standing), leaving the hands free for self support and/or other functions.

For more information on ReWalk, also take a look at:

http://www.tech-temple.com/gadgets/rewalk-shows-exoskeleton-system-that-helps-paralyzed-man-walk/ and http://www.argomedtec.com/products.asp

An article in a recent issue of National Geographic discussed clinical trials on “bionics” (http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/01/bionics/fischman-text).  In these clinical trials, missing or ruined body parts are replaced by devices embedded in the subjects’ nervous systems that respond to commands from their brains.  The machines they use are called neural prostheses or, as scientists have become more comfortable with a term made popular by science fiction writers, bionics. 

According to a study in the March 3, 2010 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers have successfully reconstructed 3-D hand motions from brain signals recorded in a non-invasive way.  This finding uses a technique that may open new doors for portable brain-computer interface systems. Such a non-invasive system could potentially operate a robotic arm or motorized wheelchair — a huge advance for people with disabilities or paralysis.

Until now, to reconstruct hand motions, researchers have used non-portable and invasive methods that place sensors inside the brain. In one study, a team of neuroscientists led by José Contreras-Vidal, PhD, of the University of Maryland, College Park, placed an array of sensors on the scalps of five participants to record their brains' electrical activity, using a process called electroencephalography, or EEG. Volunteers were asked to reach from a center button and touch eight other buttons in random order 10 times, while the authors recorded their brain signals and hand motions. Afterward, the researchers attempted to decode the signals and reconstruct the 3-D hand movements.

"Our results showed that electrical brain activity acquired from the scalp surface carries enough information to reconstruct continuous, unconstrained hand movements," Contreras-Vidal said.

Meanwhile, other scientists work toward finding a way to reconnect severed nerves or to route around a damaged area of the spinal cord.  Dr. Michael Sofroniew at UCLA and colleagues have used drugs and electrical stimulation in successful trials on paralyzed rats (http://www.jyi.org/news/nb.php?id=1397).  Dr. Stephen Davies and his research team at the University of Colorado has achieved similar results with stem cells (http://www.cuneurosurgery.com/research-davies.htm) and (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48U5T0uKV2w).  It is hoped and expected that these experiments will proceed to human clinical trials in the near future.

The implications of these and other ongoing studies are exciting and marvelous.  The process of taking an idea to the clinical trial stage is long, arduous and very expensive.  These scientists deserve all the support we can give them.

However, attention should also be given to those who volunteer to participate as a subject in a clinical trial.  As an able bodied person, picture volunteering to walk a high wire, when the purpose of the activity is not to test your own prowess but to test the strength of the high wire. 

Of course, that analogy is far from accurate; it was offered just as something for you to think about.  Clinical trials are conducted under strict guidelines and close supervision.  But being a subject in a clinical trial does require dedicating significant time and hard work.  Those who agree to participate as a subject in a clinical trial are not only looking to help themselves, but also to help others in their physical situation. 

What is notable in the stories about mechanically assisted walking and bionics is what the participants look forward to doing again someday.  Those with spinal cord injury find themselves in a world filled with obstacles that most people don’t notice, such as stairs, curbs and narrow doorways.  Their hopes for the future of scientific advances are simple.  They look forward to household chores being more easily completed and errands becoming less than major expeditions.

So we’d like to salute not only the scientists but also the participants.  Everyone who contributes in their own way to the cause of finding new treatments and ultimately a cure for spinal cord injury has our sincere gratitude.  Just as you are doing your part, we are working hard to do our part.  As staff and volunteers, we promise to do our best to further the work of the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation by extending research grants to scientists working on these issues, quality of life grants to organizations dedicated to improving daily life for those with disabilities, and by taking every opportunity to publicize the need to discover new treatments and ultimately a cure for spinal cord injury.