Personalised electrical stimulation may boost spinal injury recovery, study finds
Personalised electrical stimulation may improve movement recovery in people with spinal cord injuries, early findings suggest.
A study involving five participants found that adjusting the location, strength and type of stimulation produced stronger muscle responses than standard, uniform approaches.
The research, from Thomas Jefferson University’s Raphael Center for Neurorestoration, investigated transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS).
This technique uses an external device to deliver electrical currents through the skin to stimulate spinal nerves, potentially helping restore communication between the brain and body.
Shirin Madarshahian, is a data scientist and lead author of the study.
The researcher said: “One of the biggest challenges is figuring out the right ‘recipe’ for each person—like how strong the current should be, what kind of signal to use, how often to deliver it, and more.”
Previous studies often used identical electrode placements and stimulation types for every patient.
But this study found that personalising these parameters produced more electrical activity in muscles responsible for movement.
In some individuals, specific configurations also helped regulate blood pressure and reduce pain.
Madarshahian said: “The goal is to help ‘wake up’ the spinal cord by stimulating the nerves and encouraging the brain and body to reconnect.
Researchers assessed effectiveness by recording the electrical responses in affected muscles after stimulation.
Alessandro Napoli is lead engineer and co-author.
Napoli said: “What we’re seeing is that you do need that personalisation phase.
“Each person is different, especially after an injury.”
Mijail D. Serruya, director of the Center for Neurorestoration and senior author, said the findings could inform treatment for other movement disorders as well.
The results suggest that patient-specific treatment protocols could improve outcomes for people receiving spinal cord stimulation therapy.
