Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Quadriplegic Moves His Arms Again - Science

Bill Kochevar is believed to be the first quadriplegic who has ever recovered any function after a full-body paralysis (i.e. from the neck down after a bicycle accident).

The milestone was achieved with a great deal of electronic support but, regardless of how it was accomplished, Bill said he was even more pleased than he thought he would be and he's been in this state for eight years.

Science Daily:  Man with quadriplegia employs injury bridging technologies to move again -- just by thinking



Bill Kochevar eating with help from temporarily implanted technologies

Credit: Image courtesy of Case Western Reserve University

The picture doesn't really show me how the kit works but you see the fork nearing his mouth and this quadriplegic man is controlling that himself.


I do believe this qualifies for Jetsons Science but let's ask Bill.

"For somebody who's been injured eight years and couldn't move, being able to move just that little bit is awesome to me," said Kochevar, 56, of Cleveland. "It's better than I thought it would be."

- SD

You crying yet?  It sneaked up on me too.


There are some people who live the dream and others who make dreams come true.  Here are some of them:

"It's been so inspiring to watch Mr. Kochevar move his own arm and hand just by thinking about it," Hochberg said. "As an extraordinary participant in this research, he's teaching us how to design a new generation of neurotechnologies that we all hope will one day restore mobility and independence for people with paralysis."

Other researchers involved with the study include: Francis R. Willett, Daniel Young, William Memberg, Brian Murphy, PhD, and P. Hunter Peckham, PhD, from Case Western Reserve; Jennifer Sweet, MD, from UH; Harry Hoyen, MD,and Michael Keith, MD, from MetroHealth Medical Center and CWRU School of Medicine; and John Simeral, PhD from Brown University and Providence VA Medical Center.

- SD

There's a great deal more regarding the specifics of the science in the source article and the interested student is invited ...

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