Walking Again

Dateline: 03/18/99

A new electrostimulus device, called a nerve cuff, may one day allow paralyzed individuals to regain voluntary control of paralyzed limbs. Developed at the Simon Fraser University School of Kinesiology, the device works by recovering signals generated by sensory receptors.

As the name implies, the nerve cuffs are implanted around nerves in the body. The devices act as a conduit. After recovering the signals generated by sensory receptors such as pressure receptors, the device sends the electrical signals to a control unit. The control unit provides a stimulus for other such devices on the motor nerves of muscles which, once stimulated, allow the individual to move the specific muscle.

Paralysis, the loss of function in a part of the body, may be partial or complete. We are perhaps most familiar with paralysis caused by the severing of the spinal cord, but paralysis can be caused by a number of factors, including strokes.

There are two types of spinal cord injuries: complete and incomplete. A person with an incomplete injury has some sensation or movement ability below the injury point. A complete injury means no sensation below the injury point.

While other types of nerve cells may minimally regenerate depending on the level of sustained damage, typically, nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord do not regenerate.

Dr. Andy Hoffer, who has patented the nerve cuff, speculates that mass production may be forthcoming. If so, other laboratories could explore potential uses of the cuffs.

The potential is enormous for patients with both stroke and spinal cord paralysis. Indeed, any person with a disability stemming from a nerve disorder could be helped. For instance, researchers speculate that people with bladder control problems could be fitted with a "bladder prosthesis" to restore voluntary control of bladder functions.

What do you think? Will industrial production of the nerve cuffs allow other streams of research? If you were directing a study, what would be your line of research? What other applications do you think this technology might have? Come over to the Biology Forum and share your thoughts, opinions, and feelings.

For additional information see:

• Help On The Way For Victims Of Paralysis
  
• News release about the nerve cuff from Science Daily.