• Brain implant lets patients control exoskeleton using their mind
• Revolutionary’ device could give paralysed patience independence back
• The first in-human trial is planned for 2017 at The Royal Melbourne Hospital

More than 15 million people suffer strokes worldwide each year, with a third of victims left permanently disabled.

However, there is fresh hope for those left paralysed after researchers developed what they have called a ‘bionic spinal cord.’

According to the study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology and reported by Sarah Griffiths for MailOnline, the bionic cord consists of a paperclip-sized implant that lets wearers control an exoskeleton with just the power of thought.

The implant consists of a stent-based electrode, or ‘stentrode’ that’s implanted within a blood vessel in the brain.

It then records the type of neural activity that’s been shown to move limbs through an exoskeleton or to control bionic limbs.

Scientists have tested its minimally invasive ‘brain-machine interface’ to discover it gives paralysed people their mobility and independence back.
How does the implant work?

The ‘brain-machine interface’ is the size of a paperclip. It consists of a stent-based electrode, or ‘stentrode’ that’s implanted within a blood vessel in the brain.

As it is so small, there would be no need for open brain surgery. It is designed to record brain activity from the brain’s motor cortex and convert it into electrical commands to move an exoskeleton.

The device will be implanted in the first human trial at The Royal Melbourne Hospital in 2017.

The new device will be implanted in the first in-human trial at The Royal Melbourne Hospital in 2017.

Results of pre-clinical trials, published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, show the device is capable of recording high-quality signals emitted from the brain’s motor cortex without the need for open brain surgery.

The motor cortex is the region of the cerebral cortex, or outer layer of neural tissue, that’s involved in the planning, control, and execution of voluntary movements.

Neurologist and principal author, Dr. Thomas Oxley of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, The Florey Institute of Neurosciences and the University of Melbourne, dubbed the stentrode ‘revolutionary’.

Oxley is currently based at Mt Sinai Hospital in New York, he said: “We have been able to create the world’s only minimally invasive device that is implanted into a blood vessel in the brain via a simple day procedure, avoiding the need for high risk open brain surgery.

“Our vision, through this device, is to return function and mobility to patients with complete paralysis by recording brain activity and converting the acquired signals into electrical commands, which in turn would lead to movement of the limbs through a mobility assist device like an exoskeleton.

“In essence this a bionic spinal cord.”

“Utilising stent technology, our electrode array self-expands to stick to the inside wall of a vein, enabling us to record local brain activity,” he explained.

“By extracting the recorded neural signals, we can use these as commands to control wheelchairs, exoskeletons, prosthetic limbs or computers.

“Currently, exoskeletons are controlled by manual manipulation of a joystick to switch between the various elements of walking – stand, start, stop, turn.

“The stentrode will be the first device that enables direct thought control of these devices.”

Neurophysiologist at The Florey, Professor Clive May, added that the data from the pre-clinical study highlighted the implantation of the device was safe for long-term use.

“Through our pre-clinical study we were able to successfully record brain activity over many months,” he said.

“The quality of recording improved as the device was incorporated into tissue.

“Our study also showed that it was safe and effective to implant the device via angiography, which is minimally invasive compared with the high risks associated with open brain surgery.

“The brain-computer interface is a revolutionary device that holds the potential to overcome paralysis, by returning mobility and independence to patients affected by various conditions.”
The Holy Grail of bionics?

Professor Terry O’Brien, of the Royal Melbourne Hospital and University of Melbourne said the development of the stentrode has been the Holy Grail for research in bionics.

“To be able to create a device that can record brainwave activity over long periods of time, without damaging the brain is an amazing development in modern medicine,” he said.

“It can also be potentially used in people with a range of diseases aside from spinal cord injury, including epilepsy, Parkinson’s and other neurological disorders.”