JHU: Spinal Cord Stimulator

2023: Implant Development

On November 27, 2023, US researchers at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) reported the development of a tiny spinal stimulant that allows mobility to be returned to people with paralysis. You can implant the device with an injection - without the need for more complex surgery.

With spinal injuries, signaling from the brain to the lower parts of the body is disrupted, which can worsen mobility, and in severe cases lead to complete paralysis. In such a situation, implantable stimulants allow you to bypass the injury site and restore some motor activity. Experts say that ordinary spinal stimulants are implanted either on the dorsal surface of the spinal cord, or directly into the tissue of the spine. However, there are problems: in the first case, the ability to accurately affect important nerves is limited, and in the second, tissue damage occurs during surgery. The new method allows you to bypass the complexity data.

A spinal stimulant has been developed that allows mobility to be returned to people with paralysis of the lower extremities

The participants in the work identified a new zone for stimulation - the ventrolateral epidural surface, which is located near the most important motor neurons of the spinal cord. The new type of stimulant is a flexible and stretchable device with small dimensions that can be introduced using a compact injector and a conventional syringe pump.

Experiments in mice have shown that the proposed method provides high efficiency. The project participants believe that the spinal stimulant of a new type in the future will allow restoring motor functions in patients with spinal cord injuries or neurological diseases. At the same time, the minimally invasive procedure, due to the relatively low cost, should make treatment more accessible to a wide range of patients.^[1]

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