A tetroplegic man has taken his first steps in a laboratory thanks to on exoskeleton suit developed by biomedical research centre Clinatec and the University of Grenoble. Thirty-year-old Thibault was paralysed from the shoulders down following a fall four years ago. After his accident, which broke his spine and the level of the fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae at the base of the neck, Thibault (who has not revealed his surname) spent two years in hospital. Led by Prof Alim-Louis Benabid, president of the Clinatec executive board, the team began its treatment by placing two implants, each incorporating 64 electrodes, onto the surface of Thibault's brain over the sections that control sensorimotor function to the upper limbs. These electrodes communicate wirelessly with computers to interpret the signals they collect. Benabid and his colleagues published their research in The Lancet Neurology.
展开▼
