Advances in technology and scientific progress over the last few years have meant that many things that were previously unthinkable are now within reach.
AI – better known as artificial intelligence – has advanced to the point where some are concerned about it taking over the planet.
Space technology has also advanced significantly in recent years, but this particular scientific breakthrough may be the most fulfilling, and certainly the most human-related.
A man was able to walk again thanks to science after connection was re-established between his brain and spinal cord.
Gert-Jan Oskam, 40, was told he would never walk again after breaking his neck in a traffic accident while riding his bike in China in 2011.
But, since then, he has been able to ascend the stairs and, for the first time since his life-changing procedure, walk more than 100 meters at a time.
![](https://radiantmedia.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/brain-spinal-cord.jpeg)
In just a few days, Oskam’s mobility improved dramatically because to a wireless “digital bridge.”
But how does it work exactly?
The technique is known as a brain-computer interface, and it consists of two electrical implants, one in the brain and one in the spinal cord.
The initial implant is implanted over the region of the brain responsible for directing leg motions, which can determine the electrical signals created when we consider walking.
The other implant is implanted over the spinal cord segment that controls the legs.
This has changed Oksam’s life, as he never imagined he would be able to walk again following his injury 12 years ago.
![](https://radiantmedia.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/nine-paralysis-patients-walk-again-thanks-to-newly-identified-neurons-367467-960x540-1.jpeg)
“A few months ago, I was able to stand up and have a beer with my friends for the first time in ten years,” the man from the Netherlands explained.
“Wow, it was very fantastic. “I want to use it in my everyday life.”
Meanwhile, Prof Jocelyne Bloch, a neurosurgeon at Lausanne University Hospital and one of the project’s leaders, stated, “What we have been able to do with a digital bridge is re-establish communication between the brain and the region of the spinal cord that controls leg movement.”
The technology might ‘catch Gert-Jan’s thoughts and transform those thoughts into spinal cord stimulation to re-establish voluntary leg motions,’ according to the professor.
While Oksam is the only person who has utilized the digital bridge so far, it is hoped that the technology will be used to restore arm and hand capabilities in the future as well.
![](https://radiantmedia.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/images-2.jpeg)
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