{"id":1315,"date":"2015-09-03T00:15:40","date_gmt":"2015-09-03T00:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kurzweilai.net\/?p=260872"},"modified":"2015-09-03T00:15:40","modified_gmt":"2015-09-03T00:15:40","slug":"completely-paralyzed-man-voluntarily-moves-his-legs-ucla-scientists-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/2015\/09\/03\/completely-paralyzed-man-voluntarily-moves-his-legs-ucla-scientists-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Completely paralyzed man voluntarily moves his legs, UCLA scientists report"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mark Pollock and trainer Simon O\u2019Donnell (credit: Mark Pollock)<\/p><\/div>\n

A 39-year-old man who had been completely paralyzed for four years was able to voluntarily control his leg muscles and take thousands of steps in a \u201crobotic exoskeleton\u201d device during five days of training, and for two weeks afterward, UCLA<\/a> scientists report.<\/p>\n

This is the first time that a person with chronic, complete paralysis has regained enough voluntary control to actively work with a robotic device designed to enhance mobility.<\/p>\n

In addition to the robotic device, the man was aided by a novel noninvasive spinal stimulation technique that does not require surgery. His leg movements also resulted in other health benefits, including improved cardiovascular function and muscle tone.<\/p>\n

The new approach combines a battery-powered wearable bionic suit that enables people to move their legs in a step-like fashion, with a noninvasive procedure that the same researchers had previously used to\u00a0enable five men who had been completely paralyzed to move their legs<\/a>\u00a0in a rhythmic motion.<\/p>\n

That earlier achievement is believed to be the first time people who are completely paralyzed have been able to relearn voluntary leg movements without surgery. (The researchers do not describe the achievement as \u201cwalking\u201d because no one who is completely paralyzed has independently walked in the absence of the robotic device and electrical stimulation of the spinal cord.)<\/p>\n

Mountain racing blind? No problem. Paralyzed? “<\/strong>Iron ElectriRx” man<\/strong> is aceing that too<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the latest study, the researchers treated Mark Pollock<\/a>, who lost his sight in 1998 and later became the first blind man to race to the South Pole. In 2010, Pollock fell from a second-story window and suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down.<\/p>\n

At UCLA, outfitted with the robotic exoskeleton, Pollock made substantial progress after receiving a few weeks of physical training without spinal stimulation and then just five days of spinal stimulation training in a one-week span, for about an hour a day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last few weeks of the trial, my heart rate hit\u00a0138 beats per minute,\u201d Pollock said. \u201cThis is\u00a0an aerobic training zone, a rate I haven\u2019t even come close to\u00a0since being paralyzed\u00a0while walking in the robot alone, without these interventions. That was a very exciting, emotional moment for me, having spent my whole adult life before breaking my back as an athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even in the years since he lost his sight, Pollock has competed in ultra-endurance races across deserts, mountains and the polar ice caps. He also won silver and bronze medals in rowing at the Commonwealth Games and launched a\u00a0motivational speaking business<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cStepping with the stimulation and having my heart rate increase, along with the\u00a0awareness of my legs under me, was addictive. I wanted more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0research was published<\/a>\u00a0by the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, the world\u2019s largest society of biomedical engineers.<\/p>\n

Expanding the clinical toolbox for the paralyzed <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be difficult to get people with complete paralysis to walk completely independently, but even if they don\u2019t accomplish that, the fact they can assist themselves in walking will greatly improve their overall health and quality of life,\u201d said V. Reggie Edgerton<\/a>, senior author of the research and a UCLA distinguished professor of integrative biology and physiology, neurobiology and neurosurgery.<\/p>\n

The procedure used a robotic device manufactured by Richmond, California-based Ekso Bionics<\/a> that captures data that enables the research team to determine how much the subject is moving his own limbs, as opposed to being aided by the device.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the robot does all the work, the subject becomes passive and the nervous system shuts down,\u201d Edgerton said.<\/p>\n

The data showed that Pollock was actively flexing his left knee and raising his left leg and that during and after the electrical stimulation, he was able to voluntarily assist the robot during stepping; it wasn\u2019t just the robotic device doing the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor people who are severely injured but not completely paralyzed, there\u2019s every reason to believe that they will have the opportunity to use these types of interventions to further improve their level of function. They\u2019re likely to improve even more,\u201d Edgerton said. \u201cWe need to expand the clinical toolbox available for people with spinal cord injury and other diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n