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A forty-year-old Dutchman is the first spinal cord injury in the world to be able to move his legs from his brain again. This is possible thanks to implants on his brain and spinal cord.
In 2016, the man, Gert-Jan Oskam, took part in a study on a new technology to teach spinal cord injured people how to walk again. Additionally, he received an implant on his spinal cord, which could control his partially paralyzed legs via nerve impulses. As a result, Oskam was able to walk again with elbow crutches.
Last year, Oskam also received two implants in his brain. They receive a signal when he wants to walk. A computer sends this “walking signal” to the implant in his spinal cord, which then activates the muscles in his legs.
As a result, patients with spinal cord injuries can walk more and more like people without the condition. This is the first time that this technology has been applied to a human being.
Wat is een dwarslaesie?
Bij een dwarslaesie is het ruggenmerg beschadigd. Daardoor kunnen signalen vanuit de hersenen niet meer alle delen van het lichaam bereiken. Patiënten kunnen dan bijvoorbeeld hun benen niet meer voelen en bewegen.
More than being able to move an arm
Oskam suffered a spinal cord injury in 2011. A doctor then told him he could probably only move one arm. Oskam is happy with the technology. “It helps me walk more independently,” he says.
French neuroscientist Grégoire Courtine and medical technology company ONWARD developed the technology. After the treatment process in Switzerland, Oskam was taken to the Sint Maartenskliniek in Nijmegen. There he rehabilitated and the use of implants was monitored.
According to the Sint Maartenskliniek, it will take some time before this technology can be applied more in the future. But doctors at the clinic are “hopeful” about the developments.
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