Man With Complete SCI Regains Motor Function

A US man with a complete spinal cord injury, who had lost motor function below the level of the injury, has regained the ability to move his legs voluntarily and stand six years after his injury.

This happened after doctors stimulated Andrew Meas' spinal cord using electrical signals. Meas was paralysed from the waist down after completely severing his spine in the crash, and had made no progress despite repeated sessions of regular physiotherapy.

But his nerves were re-awakened when doctors used spinal cord epidural stimulation (scES) -- where electrical signals are delivered to the motor neurons in the spine by an implanted device.