Friday 4 September 2015

Bionic Suit helps Paralyzed man take voluntary steps


Technology has yet again achieved the impossible. Scientists at California university reported how a completely paralyzed man had been able to move his legs with the aid of a "robotic exoskeleton".

Previously in July of this year,  these researchers achieved something that wouldn't have been possible just a few years ago. They were able to stimulate the nerves of patients who were completely paralyzed so that they could move their legs in a rhythmic pattern. Now, the same team of scientists have gone one step farther: With the help of a bionic suit, they enabled a paralyzed man to take thousands of steps during a five-day training session, and for the two weeks that followed.

                       

Thirty-nine-year-old Mark Pollock had been completely paralyzed ever since he fell out of a window 4 years ago.The researchers report how - after completing 5 weeks of physical training, followed by five 1-hour sessions using spinal stimulation training - Pollock has become the first person to achieve voluntary control with a robotic device that aims to enhance mobility.

Having spent his whole life as an athlete, completing extreme adventures such as racing to the South Pole before breaking his back, Pollack was thrilled to get back to doing an aerobic workout.  "Stepping with the stimulation and having my heart rate increase, along with the awareness of my legs under me, was addictive. I wanted more," he says.
Around 5,596,000 people in the US report some kind of paralysis. The leading cause of the condition is stroke followed by spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis (MS). Other causes of paralysis include neurofibromatosis cerebral palsy and post-polio syndrome.

Prof. Edgerton and colleagues hope that the type of intervention described in their research may improve mobility for patients with partial paralysis. he says:
"It will be difficult to get people with complete paralysis to walk completely independently, but even if they don't accomplish that, the fact they can assist themselves in walking will greatly improve their overall health and quality of life."
 this technology can prove to be amazing in the field of medical. lets hope that these scientists continue to achieve what they're hoping for.

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