Author Interviews, Neurological Disorders, Technology / 24.09.2015

An Do, MD Assistant Professor Department of Neurology University of California, IrvineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: An Do, MD Assistant Professor Department of Neurology University of California, Irvine Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. An Do: In this study, we demonstrated that it is possible for a person with paraplegia due to spinal cord injury to regain brain-controlled walking through the use of a brain-computer interface. This system records EEG signals as a person is thinking about walking. While the person is thinking about walking, EEG signals change in a manner which can be detected by a computer algorithm. Upon detecting that a person is thinking about walking from the EEG signals, the computer sends a command signal to an electrical stimulation system to stimulate the nerves in the legs to continuously generate alternating right and left stepping movements. This stepping stimulation stops when he stops thinking about walking. (more…)