A flexible device may help restore multiple functions after spinal cord injury by interpreting signals linked to movement, sensation and organs.
The device wraps around the spinal cord and can interpret several types of signals at once.
Preclinical studies found the device could accurately detect signals associated with intended movement, distinguish sensory information and identify signals originating from internal organs.
Researchers from Houston Methodist and the University of Cambridge developed the technology, with the research suggesting a single device may be capable of restoring lost functions after spinal cord injury.
The research was co-led by Damiano Barone, assistant professor of neurosurgery at Houston Methodist, and George Malliaras, Prince Professor of Technology at the University of Cambridge.
Barone said: “Most current technologies try to improve whatever function remains after a spinal cord injury.
“Our goal is different. Rather than fixing the injury itself, we want to bypass it completely and create an alternative route for signals to travel.”
In preclinical testing, the researchers found the device could classify several types of sensory information alongside signals linked to intended movement.
Further testing demonstrated that the approach could also work in larger anatomy, which the researchers described as an important step towards future clinical translation.
Malliaras said: “This could represent a paradigm change in how we think about spinal cord injuries.”
“Instead of starting from the idea that what is lost is gone forever, this approach asks whether we can restore function by carrying the signal around the injury.”
The researchers said future work will focus on restoring function in laboratory models of chronic spinal cord injury before advancing the technology towards human clinical trials.
They said the technology could provide a foundation for next-generation neuroprosthetics, devices that connect directly with the nervous system to bypass or replace lost sensory, motor or cognitive functions.
