American man,26, completes 3.5-metre course thanks to computer system that reroutes signals from his brain to electrodes on his knees
A man who lost the consume of his legs to a spinal cord injury has walked again after scientists rerouted signals from his brain to electrodes on his knees. The 26-year-venerable (respected because of age, distinguished) American has used a wheelchair for five years after an accident left him paralysed from the waist down. Doctors said he was the first person with paraplegia caused by a spinal injury to walk without relying on robotic limbs that are controlled manually.
The man walked a 3.5-metre course after being fitted with an electrode cap that picks up brain waves and beams them wirelessly to a computer, and which decipher the waves as an intention to stand still or walk. The relevant command is then sent to a microcontroller on the man’s belt,and on to nerves that trigger muscles to move the legs.
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Source: theguardian.com