spinal cord injury

This paper’s objective was to explore the possibility of restoring movement to a patient with tetraplegia from a high-cervical spinal cord injury. In experiments done previously, the patient usually had a lower and less severe injury so there was less loss of function. This experiment aimed to stimulate both a reach and grasp movement using a combination of iBCIs and FES systems. Patients with these injuries need constant aid so this is an attempt to let the patient become self-sufficient. 

This experiment used a man with a severe spinal cord injury that occurred eight years before the testing. Its important to do these tests on humans because animals do not get these types of injuries and survive. The long period of time between injury and testing eliminates the possibility that the movement stimulated is a result of residual function in the muscles. The severity just shows how effective the systems are even with so much loss of function.