Cybernetics may allow paralyzed people to walk again--soon

Started by catwhowalksbyhimself, September 21, 2009, 12:50:07 AM

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catwhowalksbyhimself

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090920/hl_hsn/paralyzedratswalkagain

It's rats so far, but they've figure out that you don't actually need the brain to be connected to the legs in order to walk.  The spinal cord itself can be trained to walk fairly normally in response to electrical signals, so perhaps in a decade or two, wheelchairs my be largely replace with cybernetic implants allowing a person to use some kind of remote control deal to make themselves walk.  Pretty niftly.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

thalaw2

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catwhowalksbyhimself

I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

Ares_God_of_War

"That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die."

catwhowalksbyhimself

I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

Uncle Yuan

You, the cat, is Tom.

The rehabilitated rat in the article is Jerry, and now able to extract his revenge.  Probably in some way involving a frying pan to the face and an amusing cut scene of you walking away with a flat face.
"But there's no use crying over every mistake
You just keep on trying 'till you run out of cake
And the science gets done, and you make a neat gun
For the people who are still alive."

BWPS

That's amazing news. Being unable to walk is probably not fun at all. Though it may be strange getting used to controlling yourself with a joystick or something, it's still really amazing not to mention how incredible it is that technology is able to perform miracles.
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UnfluffyBunny

as someone who's recently found himself in a wheelchair from a brain related medical condition this is pretty exciting news, thanks for posting, knowing this kind of thing is being worked with makes the whole situation seem lighter :)

deano_ue

Quote from: UnfluffyBunny on September 21, 2009, 03:55:27 PM
as someone who's recently found himself in a wheelchair from a brain related medical condition this is pretty exciting news, thanks for posting, knowing this kind of thing is being worked with makes the whole situation seem lighter :)

man i'm sorry to hear that, are you ok?

UnfluffyBunny

Quote from: the_ultimate_evil on September 21, 2009, 04:21:57 PM
man i'm sorry to hear that, are you ok?

I have a form of cerebral palsy, it's been a slight hindrance all my life, it just recently seems to have "progressed" tho, all in all i'm generally doing fine tho, I appreciate the concern tho :)

catwhowalksbyhimself

Well, that's the nice thing about this method--it bypasses the brain altogether, so brain-related conditions can be treated just as well as spinal damage.  It sounds like it would involved a lot of intensive therapy, but still, it could be a huge improvement in quality of life for many people like you.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

DrMike2000

Interesting article, and a very odd solution for the problem there I think. I cant help but think getting a biped to walk using external stimulus would be way harder than a rat thats also using its front legs, but its still pretty amazing.

This line: "About 5.6 million Americans, or one in 50, has some level of paralysis" really threw me though. One in 50? For real?
I cant help but wondering what qualifies as "some level of paralysis" here. Does something as minor as a bulging disc that occasionally impairs full mobility count?
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Tortuga

I'm also finding walking and balancing increasingly difficult due to a neuromuscular disease, and although at times it's a hard situation to face, I am very thankful that I live in the time that I do, and that technology and medical research are making the amazing strides that they are.