Computer To Help Spinal Cord Injury Victims Walk

For helping people with spinal cord injury walk better, researchers have made an artificial connection from the brain to the locomotion centre in the spinal cord using a computer interface as bypass.

This allowed participants to stimulate the spinal locomotion centre using volitionally-controlled muscle activity and to control walking.

Neural networks in the spinal cord, locomotion centre are capable of producing rhythmic movements such as swimming and walking, even when isolated from the brain.

The brain sends commands to the spinal locomotion centre to start, stop and change walking speed.

In most cases of spinal cord injury, the loss of this link from the brain to the locomotion centre causes problems with walking.