40-year-old Gert-Jan Oskam, paralyzed from the hips down in 2011 after a motorcycle accident, can walk again. The study published on Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature details a medical miracle that uses “a digital bridge between the brain and spinal cord” called a “brain-spine interface (BSI).” The BSI links brain signals to regions of the spine used for walking by enabling the recording of neurological activity and stimulation of the spinal cord.
Through spine and brain implants, the BSI allowed Oskam to naturally control leg movements for standing, walking, climbing stairs, and even traversing “complex terrains.” When the BSI, which detected signals of Oskam’s motor intentions to help him walk, was switched off, he was still able to walk with crutches since the device supported neurological recovery over time.
The system has enabled Oskam to walk naturally. He had previously been able to take steps using a walker, but the method required him to make unnatural heel movements for motion sensors to detect and trigger preprogrammed nerve stimulations. He could only traverse flat surfaces and had trouble starting and stopping.
At a May 23 press conference, Oskam explained that “the stimulation before was controlling me, and now I’m controlling it.”
Traumatic spine injuries like his disrupt communication between the brain and areas of the spine. Oskam’s implants reconnected the two by bypassing disconnected spots on the spine. The implants “captured the thoughts of Gert-Jan, and translated these thoughts into a stimulation of the spinal cord to re-establish voluntary movement,” said Swiss researcher Grégoire Courtine, who led the study’s implant research.
Oskam described to the press how this breakthrough changed his life: “A few months ago, I was able, for the first time after ten years, to stand up and have a beer with my friends.”