Bionic Suit Helps Paralyzed Man Walk
Scientists have actually helped a man who suffers from paralysis to walk.
With the help of a bionic suit, made with technology blending a noninvasive spinal stimulation technique along with a battery-powered suit, scientists have supported an athlete to walk for the first time in four years.
Mark Pollock, 39, fell out of a window. He was an athlete who ran to the South Pole before he was injured. He is now excited to be able to perform aerobic workouts once more.
"Stepping with the stimulation and having my heart rate increase, along with the awareness of my legs under me, was addictive," he said. "I wanted more."
Prof. V. Reggie Edgerton, a senior author and professor of integrative biology and physiology at UCLA, developed the spinal stimulation technique with a number of scientists, according to the International Business Times.
"Stimulation improved the coordination patterns of the lower limb muscles resulting in a more continuous, smooth stepping motion in the exoskeleton," the team said. "These stepping sessions in the presence of stimulation were accompanied by greater cardiac responses and sweating than could be attained without the stimulation. Based on the data from this case study, it appears that there is considerable potential for positive synergistic effects after complete paralysis by combining the overground stepping in an exoskeleton."
Getting operated with battery, made by a California-based company called Ekso Bionics, according to Medical Daily, the new technology opens up a new realm of hope for paralytic patients.
"For people who are severely injured but not completely paralyzed, there's every reason to believe that they will have the opportunity to use these types of interventions to further improve their level of function," said Edgerton. "They're likely to improve even more. We need to expand the clinical toolbox available for people with spinal cord injury and other diseases," according to hngn.
