around forty paralyzed people regained the use of their hands thanks to electrical stimulation

This device consists of placing several electrodes on the skin of the neck which send small shocks to the bone marrow. It could also be used for leg rehabilitation.

Around forty people with disabilities, for example quadriplegic people, have regained the use of their hands thanks to electrical stimulation, revealed Monday, May 20, a Swiss team specializing in neuroscience, in a study published in the scientific journal Nature that Franceinfo was able to consult.

This is a major new scientific breakthrough. According to this scientific work, 43 of the 60 participants in this study consider that this device, called ARCEx, has made it possible to improve their daily life. This device consists of placing several electrodes on the skin of the neck which send small shocks to the bone marrow. The spinal cord then receives electrical stimulation, which does not cause pain. This electrical stimulation must take place over several sessions per week.

Its designer, the neuroscientist and professor at EPFL Lausanne, Grégoire Courtine hopes that this technique can also be used for leg rehabilitation in the future. This device costs between 10,000 and 30,000 euros, but researchers hope that Social Security will agree to reimburse it for French patients next year.

Interviewed by franceinfo, Scottish journalist Melanie Reid is one of forty patients who were able to regain the use of their hands, 14 years after a horse riding accident which caused her to lose the use of her left hand: “I thought I would never progress again, and now I can use my left hand again, as if my muscle memory was waking up”she explains.

“My left hand is stronger, I can grasp objects again, I can scroll, scroll on my phone or tablet with my hand, unfasten my seat belt in the car.”

Melanie Reid

at franceinfo

“All of a sudden you have more strength and your fingers and your thumb work, it’s amazing, and psychologically it’s important. You see life differentlyshe says. Everyone thinks that when you’re quadriplegic, your priority in life is to walk again… But no, what matters most is hands that work.”

Motor skills are not as fine as before, but after using this device, 80% of study participants noticed an improvement in their daily life. The researchers hope to obtain marketing authorization from the American health authorities at the end of the year, and that of Europe next year.