Thanks to a bone marrow neurostimulator, a 32-year-old paraplegic woman returned to walking after five years. Five years ago he suffered a spinal cord injury due to a sports accident. Now with the implantation of the neurostimulator by the team of neurosurgeons of the Ircss San Raffaele in Milan (part of the San Donato group) led by Professor Pietro Mortini, he is able to stand upright and move with the walker.
He is facing a complex rehabilitation process defined by Dr. Sandro Iannaccone, head of the Cognitive-Motor Neurological Disorders Rehabilitation Unit. "We are conducting an advanced clinical research protocol - explained Mortini, who is head of neurosurgery and Full Professor at the Vita - Salute San Raffaele University - , coordinated by my collaborator, Dr. Luigi Albano, at the end of which this intervention could enter current clinical practice, offering a therapeutic solution to patients with spinal cord injuries".
And that's just the beginning. "The next step - he added - will also be to treat spinal cord injuries caused by neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, in patients who will be recruited by the Neurology Unit of the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, directed by Professor Massimo Filippi".
The result was possible thanks to the collaboration with a group of engineers from the Institute of Biorobotics of La Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, directed by Professor Silvestro Micera.
The implanted device consists of two parts: a biocompatible support for 32 electrodes that is inserted into the epidural space of the spine, and a pulse generator, (a kind of pacemaker) similar to those used in patients with cardiac arrhythmias, inserted under the skin at the hip level. The impulses are delivered to the spinal cord from where they then pass to the nerves and muscles. The implantation of the device took place in about 3 hours, through a delicate minimally invasive neurosurgical intervention, performed in continuous neurophysiological monitoring. The pacemaker was then programmed to ensure coordinated activation of all the muscles necessary for walking. The control of the functions of the stimulator is possible thanks to a series of functional options that can be chosen by the patient according to her needs.
