Robotic exoskeleton helps paralyzed man voluntarily walk

 

On Tuesday, UCLA researchers announced the successful testing of a robotic exoskeleton system that has allowed a man paralyzed from the waist down to take thousands of steps.

Along with the robotic device, volunteer Mark Pollock was also helped by a novel non-invasive spinal stimulation method that does not call for surgery. His ability to take steps also triggered health benefits, such as enhanced cardiovascular functionality and muscle tone.

Pollock lost his vision in 1998 and later became the first blind person to race to the South Pole. However, during 2010, Pollock dropped from a second-story window and suffered a spine injury that left him disabled.

The procedure utilized a robotic device that captures biometric data, enabling the study team to find out just how much the subject was moving his limbs on his own, rather than being helped by the device. Pollock received a few weeks of physical training and one week of training with the non-invasive spinal stimulation.

Encouraging results

“In the last few weeks of the trial, my heart rate hit 138 beats per minute,” Pollock said in a UCLA news release. “This is an aerobic training zone, a rate I haven’t even come close to since being paralyzed while 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.”

Biometric data showed Pollock was positively flexing his left knee joint and elevating his left leg. During and after the electric stimulation, he was able to willingly work with the robot during movement; it wasn’t just the robotic device carrying out all the work.

“For people who are severely injured but not completely paralyzed, there’s every reason to believe that they will have the opportunity to use these types of interventions to further improve their level of function. They’re likely to improve even more,” said V. Reggie Edgerton, a UCLA professor of integrative biology and physiology, neurobiology, and neurosurgery. “We need to expand the clinical toolbox available for people with spinal cord injury and other diseases.”

Observers commented that due to the complexity of the central nervous system, a mix of different interventions is required achieve functional recovery for those coping with paralyzed limbs.

“This is a great example of a therapeutic approach that combines two very different modalities—neuromodulation and robotic assist devices—to achieve a result that could not be realized with either approach alone,” said Grace Peng, director of National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering’s Rehabilitation Engineering Program. “This multi-device approach, much like multi-drug therapy, may ultimately benefit patients with impaired mobility in a wide variety of rehabilitation settings.”

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Feature image: UCLA/YouTube