Project description
Brain−spine interfaces to restore limb control in spinal cord injury patients
A spinal cord injury (SCI) interrupts the communication between the brain and the spinal cord. The EU-funded ReverseParalysis project aims to develop two fully implantable brain−spine interfaces (BSIs) that will restore lower- and upper-limb movement after SCI. The project capitalises on the previously developed BSI prototypes that link the intended movements decoded from motor cortex activity to electrical stimulations of the spinal cord. These BSIs restored walking and arm/hand movement in nonhuman primate models of SCI and enabled one paralysed patient to walk on their own. The project will combine a brain implant to decode motor intents from cortical activity, with an implantable pulse generator for real-time control of spinal cord stimulation with electrode arrays designed to leverage movement restoration.
Objective
A spinal cord injury (SCI) alters the communication between the brain and spinal cord. The consequences are dramatic impairments of upper-limb and lower-limb motor functions, which have a profound impact on the affected person, their family, and society. Currently, there are no approved therapies for SCI. The resulting costs of care amount to more than 2.5 M? over the lifetime of a person with SCI. Two ERCs combined with two ERC-PoCs enabled us to prototype two brain-spine interfaces (BSIs) that link the intended movements decoded from motor cortex activity to precise electrical stimulations of the spinal cord to promote these movements. These BSIs restored walking and arm/hand movements in nonhuman primate models of SCI, and as we report here, enabled one patient with chronic paralysis to walk again outdoors. These prototypes were partly based on repurposed devices that were not optimized for the intended applications, and thus presented shortcomings. Here, we propose to integrate two breakthrough technologies to develop two fully-implantable BSIs that will remedy these limitations. The first technology consists of the only existing fully-implantable neurosensor for wireless monitoring of cortical activity in humans based on high-density grids positioned over the dura mater. The second technology is the only implantable neurostimulation system dedicated to the recovery of movement after paralysis. This system combines an implantable pulse generator that enables highly reliable, real-time control of spinal cord stimulation, and a portfolio of electrode arrays that have been designed to leverage the mechanisms through which this stimulation restores movement. Two small scale clinical trials will demonstrate that these BSIs restore lower-limb and upper-limb movements in humans with chronic paralysis. These studies will provide specifications for industrial versions of the BSIs, opening the path to a commercially-viable revolution for people living with paralysis.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2021-TRANSITION-CHALLENGES-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
5656 AE Eindhoven
Netherlands
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