Michel Roccati, paralysed with a severed spinal cord, was able to walk again, thanks to an electrode device developed by a team of Swiss researchers.

It is the first time someone who has had a complete cut to their spinal cord has been able to walk freely. The research has been published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Michel Roccati lost the ability to walk after a motorcycle accident in 2017, when he had a complete spinal cord injury. But today, equipped with an electrode device he is able to enjoy the simple things in life again: standing at a bar for drinks with friends, taking a shower without a chair and even strolling through the town with a walker.

Roccati was one of three men between the ages of 29 and 41 to participate in the STIMO clinical trial, led by Dr Jocelyne Bloch from Lausanne University Hospital and Grégoire Courtine of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

The speed of Michel's recovery amazed the neurosurgeon who inserted the implant and expertly attached electrodes to individual nerve fibres said Prof Jocelyne.

The research has been backed by Dr Ram Hariharan, a consultant at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield who is independent of the research team and also speaks for the Spinal Injuries Association.

All the patients in the trial had a complete loss of voluntary movement below their injuries. Two also had a complete loss of sensation. But with the devices in place, the researchers could use a tablet computer to initiate unique sequences of electrical pulses, sent to the epidural electrodes via the pacemaker, to activate the participants' muscles.

The STIMO trial also introduces a new method for initiating and sustaining movement. To begin stimulation, previous studies have relied on participants' intent to move and the brain signals that follow.

With the STIMO device, people with complete spinal cord injury can regain voluntary movement in their legs only while receiving stimulation. While the device is off, voluntary movement will not be possible. The electrodes can remain in place for life, but the pacemaker needs to be replaced every nine years.

The researchers however stress that it isn't a cure for spinal injury and that the technology is still too complicated to be used in everyday life, but hail it nonetheless as a major step to improving quality of life.
-BBC