Research participants stand, walk after spinal injury using tech developed @ Cleveland s APT Center [Video]

Researchers and staff at the Cleveland VA Medical Center’s Advanced Platform Technology Center have been working for more than two decades on helping those with spinal cord injury (SCI) regain the ability to stand and walk. With SCI, the muscles remain unimpacted but the signals from the brain are interrupted at the point of injury. Researchers work with the remaining healthy nerves to implant electrodes which stimulate the paralyzed muscles and cause them to contract.

Research participants Jennifer and Mark currently have these standing balance systems in place and have been able to use them to walk with the assistance of a walker in spite of having been paralyzed for many years.

About the APT Center
The Advanced Platform Technology (APT) Center is a Department of Veterans Affairs Research Center in the Rehabilitation Research and Development Service. The Center addresses the pressing clinical needs of disabled Veterans by harnessing the most recent developments in untapped engineering and basic science disciplines and applying them to design and disseminate new rehabilitation interventions.

Learn more about the APT Center and the Cleveland VA Medical Center by visiting our websites and please subscribe to the APT Center YouTube channel to stay updated on our research.

https://www.aptcenter.research.va.gov
https://www.cleveland.va.gov