iHaveNet.com
Health Ailments - Paralyzed Limbs Revived by Hacking Into Nerves | Health
Your Single Source to Current Events, News Analysis & Reviews.
  • HOME
  • WORLD
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Balkans
    • Caucasas
    • Central Asia
    • Eastern Europe
    • Europe
    • Indian Subcontinent
    • Latin America
    • Middle East
    • North Africa
    • Scandinavia
    • Southeast Asia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    • Argentina
    • Australia
    • Austria
    • Benelux
    • Brazil
    • Canada
    • China
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Ireland
    • Israel
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Korea
    • Mexico
    • New Zealand
    • Pakistan
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Russia
    • South Africa
    • Spain
    • Taiwan
    • Turkey
    • United States
  • USA
    • ECONOMICS
    • EDUCATION
    • ENVIRONMENT
    • FOREIGN POLICY
    • POLITICS
    • OPINION
    • TRADE
    • Atlanta
    • Baltimore
    • Bay Area
    • Boston
    • Chicago
    • Cleveland
    • DC Area
    • Dallas
    • Denver
    • Detroit
    • Houston
    • Los Angeles
    • Miami
    • New York
    • Philadelphia
    • Phoenix
    • Pittsburgh
    • Portland
    • San Diego
    • Seattle
    • Silicon Valley
    • Saint Louis
    • Tampa
    • Twin Cities
  • BUSINESS
    • FEATURES
    • eBUSINESS
    • HUMAN RESOURCES
    • MANAGEMENT
    • MARKETING
    • ENTREPRENEUR
    • SMALL BUSINESS
    • STOCK MARKETS
    • Agriculture
    • Airline
    • Auto
    • Beverage
    • Biotech
    • Book
    • Broadcast
    • Cable
    • Chemical
    • Clothing
    • Construction
    • Defense
    • Durable
    • Engineering
    • Electronics
    • Firearms
    • Food
    • Gaming
    • Healthcare
    • Hospitality
    • Leisure
    • Logistics
    • Metals
    • Mining
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Newspaper
    • Nondurable
    • Oil & Gas
    • Packaging
    • Pharmaceutic
    • Plastics
    • Real Estate
    • Retail
    • Shipping
    • Sports
    • Steelmaking
    • Textiles
    • Tobacco
    • Transportation
    • Travel
    • Utilities
  • WEALTH
    • CAREERS
    • INVESTING
    • PERSONAL FINANCE
    • REAL ESTATE
    • MARKETS
    • BUSINESS
  • STOCKS
    • ECONOMY
    • EMERGING MARKETS
    • STOCKS
    • FED WATCH
    • TECH STOCKS
    • BIOTECHS
    • COMMODITIES
    • MUTUAL FUNDS / ETFs
    • MERGERS / ACQUISITIONS
    • IPOs
    • 3M (MMM)
    • AT&T (T)
    • AIG (AIG)
    • Alcoa (AA)
    • Altria (MO)
    • American Express (AXP)
    • Apple (AAPL)
    • Bank of America (BAC)
    • Boeing (BA)
    • Caterpillar (CAT)
    • Chevron (CVX)
    • Cisco (CSCO)
    • Citigroup (C)
    • Coca Cola (KO)
    • Dell (DELL)
    • DuPont (DD)
    • Eastman Kodak (EK)
    • ExxonMobil (XOM)
    • FedEx (FDX)
    • General Electric (GE)
    • General Motors (GM)
    • Google (GOOG)
    • Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)
    • Home Depot (HD)
    • Honeywell (HON)
    • IBM (IBM)
    • Intel (INTC)
    • Int'l Paper (IP)
    • JP Morgan Chase (JPM)
    • J & J (JNJ)
    • McDonalds (MCD)
    • Merck (MRK)
    • Microsoft (MSFT)
    • P & G (PG)
    • United Tech (UTX)
    • Wal-Mart (WMT)
    • Walt Disney (DIS)
  • TECH
    • ADVANCED
    • FEATURES
    • INTERNET
    • INTERNET FEATURES
    • CYBERCULTURE
    • eCOMMERCE
    • mp3
    • SECURITY
    • GAMES
    • HANDHELD
    • SOFTWARE
    • PERSONAL
    • WIRELESS
  • HEALTH
    • AGING
    • ALTERNATIVE
    • AILMENTS
    • DRUGS
    • FITNESS
    • GENETICS
    • CHILDREN'S
    • MEN'S
    • WOMEN'S
  • LIFESTYLE
    • AUTOS
    • HOBBIES
    • EDUCATION
    • FAMILY
    • FASHION
    • FOOD
    • HOME DECOR
    • RELATIONSHIPS
    • PARENTING
    • PETS
    • TRAVEL
    • WOMEN
  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • BOOKS
    • TELEVISION
    • MUSIC
    • THE ARTS
    • MOVIES
    • CULTURE
  • SPORTS
    • BASEBALL
    • BASKETBALL
    • COLLEGES
    • FOOTBALL
    • GOLF
    • HOCKEY
    • OLYMPICS
    • SOCCER
    • TENNIS
  • Subscribe to RSS Feeds EMAIL ALERT Subscriptions from iHaveNet.com RSS
    • RSS | Politics
    • RSS | Recipes
    • RSS | NFL Football
    • RSS | Movie Reviews

Paralyzed Limbs Revived by Hacking Into Nerves
MacGregor Campbell, New Scientist Magazine

HOME > HEALTH

 

New devices using pulses of electricity could help paralyzed people walk again

"The leg wasn't bouncing all over the table, but there were substantial twitches," says Matthew Schiefer, a neural engineer at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.

Schiefer is describing an experiment in which pulses of electricity are used to control the muscles of an unconscious patient, as if they were a marionette. It represents the beginnings of a new generation of devices that he hopes will allow people with paralyzed legs to regain control of their muscles and so be able to stand, or even walk again.

His is one of a raft of gadgets being developed that plug into the network of nerves that normally relay commands from the spinal cord to the muscles, but fall silent when a spinal injury breaks the chain. New ways to connect wires to nerves allow artificial messages to be injected to selectively control muscles just as if the signal had originated in the brain. Limbs that might otherwise never again be controlled by their owners can be brought back to life.

The potential of this approach was demonstrated in 2006 when a different Case Western Reserve team enabled someone who was paralyzed from the waist down to watch their usually motionless knees straighten at the push of a button. With a little support they even stood for 2 minutes while signals injected into nerves in their thighs kept their knees straight.

But controlling one joint alone is not enough. Schiefer's latest experiment uses a new method to plug into a nerve to control the four muscles needed to stand up from a sitting position.

Motor nerves like this are in some ways like telephone cables; they're are made up of electrically isolated bundles of nerve fibers, each one of which connects to certain groups of muscle cells. In the 2006 trial, electrodes were simply placed on the nerve's surface using a spiral cuff, but this makes for a poor connection with fiber bundles close to the nerve's core. The new solution, known as the flat interface nerve electrode (FINE), is a cuff that squashes a nerve flat to bring fiber bundles closer to the surface -- and to the eight electrodes in the device's soft rubber lining.

It makes for a much better connection, says Dustin Tyler, who invented the FINE and heads research into its effectiveness. "We apply a little bit of pressure to reshape the cross-section without damaging the nerve," he notes.

Recent tests validated that approach. The cuff was temporarily implanted on the femoral nerves of seven patients undergoing routine thigh surgery. Pulses of current 250 microseconds long were used to selectively and independently activate the muscles that extend the knee and flex the hip joint when a person stands up. The pulses were not enough to bend the joints as much as they would when standing, but the results suggest that longer pulses should stimulate the muscles to provide enough force to support the body's weight (Journal of Neural Engineering). Longer trials are being planned, subject to approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Future devices using FINE would likely be targeted at people paralyzed from the waist down. A computer interface to the implant could give them control of their legs. Further into the future, a brain interface might allow a person to control their implant with their thoughts.

The traffic through our nervous system is not just one-way, though, and for a device to restore function to paralyzed arms or legs it needs to be able to detect feedback from those limbs. The first commercial walking aid that plugs into nerves demonstrates just that ability, and goes on sale in Europe in a few months. Neurostep, from Neurostream Technologies of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec, Canada, designed by Andy Hoffer at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, controls ankle movement for people with foot-drop, a condition in which nerve damage makes one foot hang limply while stepping forward.

Neurostep connects using just four electrodes, placed around a nerve inside a cylindrical cuff similar to the spiral one used in Case Western's 2006 trial. But the device not only injects current into the nerve, it also reads signals sent back by the foot to communicate the pressure it feels. A control unit implanted in the thigh uses that pressure information to time its signal to flex the ankle in a way that achieves a normal gait.

Ultimately, though, realizing the ambition of neuroengineers to control every muscle a nerve connects to requires plugging in more literally, says Greg Clark at the University of Utah's Department of Bioengineering in Salt Lake City. Placing electrodes outside a nerve is like standing outside a stadium and trying to shout to someone watching a football match inside, he says.

With colleagues, Clark is testing a device called the Utah slanted array that bristles with up to 100 wires designed to be gently pushed into a nerve. "They get up close and personal with nerve fibers," says Clark.

The result is the most precise control yet of any of the limb-activating devices, he says. Though not yet approved for human trials, it has allowed previously paralyzed cats to stand, and has been used to control the movement of a monkey's fingers individually. More independent electrodes lead to more graceful movement and finer control, says Clark.

It won't be perfect. Nerves contain tens of thousands of axons, each capable of being controlled by the ultimate puppeteer: the brain. Learning to pull even a few of those strings, though, could restore partial function to a person's limb, restoring some control to an arm or leg that was previously paralyzed.

Available at Amazon.com:

Calm Energy: How People Regulate Mood with Food and Exercise

 

 

  • How Much Vitamin D is Enough
  • Are Carbonated Drinks Bad for Bones?
  • Common Myths and Misconceptions About Diabetes
  • Vitamin E Supplements Not Recommended for Those With Diabetes
  • Tick-Borne Disease Risk Peaks in Spring and Summer
  • Are Carbonated Drinks Bad for Bones?
  • Meibomitis Creates Receptive Environment for Bacteria
  • Top 4 Seasonal Allergy Mistakes
  • Stress Less: Ten Strategies That Work
  • Paralyzed Limbs Revived by Hacking Into Nerves
  • The Threat of Childhood Obesity
  • Nature's Gym: Exercising Outdoors
  • Eat Smart for Healthy Hair
  • Paying the High Price of Food Waste
  • Can Acid Reflux Damage my Esophagus
  • Secrets to Breathing Better With Allergies
  • Take the Work Out of Workout
  • Bounce Back From Spring Break
  • Cultivate a Nutrient-Rich Approach to Eating for Life
  • What's the Right Amount of Vitamin C
  • Treadmill Test Can Reveal Hidden Problems in Heart
  • Suffering From Allergies? Tailor Treatment to Your Symptoms
  • Researchers Break Through to Unconscious Patients
  • Key Factors Related to Heart Attack Risk
  • Type 2 Diabetes Increases Risk for Cardiovascular Problems
  • Middle-Age Spread and How to Avoid It
  • Fiber and Weight Loss: Learn the Secrets
  • Treadmill Test Can Reveal Hidden Problems in Heart
  • Could Hot Flashes Only Occur at Night?
  • Hypochondria: The Impossible Illness
  • Get the Lead Out: The Less Exposure to This Toxic Metal the Better
  • Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sugar
  • Omega-3 Rich Diet
  • Omega-3 Enriched Eggs an 'Eggs-traordinary' Choice for Heart Health
  • Quinoa: Nutritious Mother Grain of the Incas
  • 14 Things You Might Not Know About Aspirin
  • Cultivate a Healthy Brain Lifestyle As You Age
  • Regular Exercise Helps Protect Aging Brains
  • Surgeries Can be Combined But May Not be Necessary
  • Get the Lead Out: The Less Exposure to This Toxic Metal the Better
  • Hypochondria: The Impossible Illness
  • Guide to Cold and Allergy Symptoms
  • Is Heartburn Surgery the Answer?
  • Best Cooking Methods for Heartburn Sufferers
  • 14 Things You Might Not Know About Aspirin

 

Copyright © 2010 MacGregor Campbell, New Scientist Magazine

 

Search Powered By Google

Google Search   

advertisement

Advertisement

Healthcare Jobs

Healthcare Jobs

Medical Jobs

Advertisement

Advertisement

  • HOME
  • WORLD
  • USA
  • BUSINESS
  • WEALTH
  • STOCKS
  • TECH
  • HEALTH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • SPORTS

 

Children's Health - Paralyzed Limbs Revived by Hacking Into Nerves

  • Services:
  • RSS Feeds
  • Shopping
  • Email Alerts
  • Site Map
  • Privacy