Previous electronic systems have allowed paralyzed people to stand and walk with a walker, sometimes for more than a mile, said Naomi Kleitman, director of education at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Those systems use electrodes taped on the skin. We are by no means at the end of the road. On Monday, Merger was living proof of that. A demonstration of him walking, scheduled to take place at EU headquarters, had to be postponed because a glitch caused the commands to not be communicated to the computer chip, meaning Merger could not walk.
Merger steps within a 'walking frame' that acts as a remote control for the chip.
Systems that implant computer-controlled electrodes have been tested in the lab for many years, said Kleitman. They may allow more sophisticated control over leg nerves and muscles, although there has been some problems with long-term maintenance of the implanted electrodes, she said. Kleitman said she couldn't comment directly on the European system without knowing more details. Eventually, scientists hope patients will be able to control their movements by pressing buttons on a walking cane now under development that will act as a remote control. For now, scientists transmit instructions to the chip via computer.