BRAIN-SPINE INTERFACES TO REVERSE UPPER- AND LOWER-LIMB PARALYSIS

Introduction

A spinal cord injury (SCI) alters the communication between the brain and spinal cord. The consequences are dramatic impairments of upper-limb and lower-limb motor functions, which have a profound impact on the affected person, their family, and society. Currently, there are no approved therapies for SCI.

Economic Impact

The resulting costs of care amount to more than 2.5 million euros over the lifetime of a person with SCI.

Development of Brain-Spine Interfaces

Two ERCs combined with two ERC-PoCs enabled us to prototype two brain-spine interfaces (BSIs) that link the intended movements decoded from motor cortex activity to precise electrical stimulations of the spinal cord to promote these movements.

Achievements

These BSIs restored walking and arm/hand movements in nonhuman primate models of SCI, and as we report here, enabled one patient with chronic paralysis to walk again outdoors.

Limitations of Current Prototypes

These prototypes were partly based on repurposed devices that were not optimized for the intended applications, and thus presented shortcomings.

Proposed Solution

Here, we propose to integrate two breakthrough technologies to develop two fully-implantable BSIs that will remedy these limitations.

Technologies Involved

1. The first technology consists of the only existing fully-implantable neurosensor for wireless monitoring of cortical activity in humans based on high-density grids positioned over the dura mater.
2. The second technology is the only implantable neurostimulation system dedicated to the recovery of movement after paralysis. This system combines:
   • An implantable pulse generator that enables highly reliable, real-time control of spinal cord stimulation.
   • A portfolio of electrode arrays that have been designed to leverage the mechanisms through which this stimulation restores movement.

Clinical Trials

Two small-scale clinical trials will demonstrate that these BSIs restore lower-limb and upper-limb movements in humans with chronic paralysis.

Future Implications

These studies will provide specifications for industrial versions of the BSIs, opening the path to a commercially viable revolution for people living with paralysis.