A big medical event and experiment success: a 40-year-old man from Netherlands, with paralyzed legs after an accident 12 years ago, can walk again after he had implants in his brain and spinal cord, participating in a trial by Grégoire Courtine, a neuroscientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The medical team developed a technology in years. The implants he received helped Gert-Jan Oskam to stand, walk, climb stairs and traverse complex terrains with the technology system being stable for a year.Most important, even with te system turned off, the man regains some control over his legs.
He said he is now able to walk at least 100 meters (328 feet) or more at once. Currently, Oskam carries the system in a backpack but it will be miniaturized in the future. „We’ve captured the thoughts of Gert-Jan, and translated these thoughts into a stimulation of the spinal cord to re-establish voluntary movement,” Dr Courtine described the experiment. The method is supposed to be effective in the future to restore movements in arms and hands.
