A patient suffering from a debilitating neurodegenerative disease was able to get up and walk again after being bedridden for over a year, thanks to an innovative system developed by a team of scientists at the NeuroRestore research center headed by Jocelyne Bloch, a neurosurgeon at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and Professor at University of Lausanne UNIL, and Grégoire Courtine, an EPFL professor in neuroscience. Their system includes electronics implanted directly on the spinal cord to reactivate the neurons that regulate blood pressure, thereby preventing the patient from losing consciousness every time she’s in an upright position.
Electronic implant reactivates spinal-cord nerves of a patient with neurodegenerative disease
A patient suffering from a debilitating neurodegenerative disease was able to get up and walk again after being bedridden for over a year, thanks to an innovative system developed by a team of scientists at the NeuroRestore research center headed by Jocelyne Bloch, a neurosurgeon at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and Professor at University of Lausanne UNIL, and Grégoire Courtine, an EPFL professor in neuroscience. Their system includes electronics implanted directly on the spinal cord to reactivate the neurons that regulate blood pressure, thereby preventing the patient from losing consciousness every time she's in an upright position.