In the News
Experimental device helps paralyzed man walk the length of four football fields
Source:CBS News
Two studies out Monday point to significant progress in helping paralyzed people stand and take steps. A new treatment may provide new hope for the nearly 1.3 million Americans who have paralysis from spinal cord injuries.
In 2011, Jeff Marquis crashed his bike on a mountain trail in Montana, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. A once-active athlete and professional chef, Marquis needed constant care.
But today Marquis can walk again, something people with paralysis can only imagine. He can do it because of a remarkable new experimental device, a type of electrical stimulator.
Spinal injuries disrupt nerve pathways that ordinarily allow the brain to signal the legs to move. In a study, doctors implanted an electrical stimulator at the base of the spine. When it’s turned on, the electrical signals appear to awaken those injured nerve pathways, allowing the brain to communicate with the legs again.