{"id":270345,"date":"2021-02-09T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=270345"},"modified":"2021-02-09T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T10:00:00","slug":"onwards-technology-can-restore-the-independence-of-those-paralyzed-due-to-spinal-cord-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/onwards-technology-can-restore-the-independence-of-those-paralyzed-due-to-spinal-cord-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"ONWARD’s technology can restore the independence of those paralyzed due to spinal cord injury"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Moving our hands, picking up or holding objects might come naturally to most. However, to those with spinal cord injury (SCI), it can be next to impossible. ONWARD<\/a>, formerly known as GTX Medical, has developed an external stimulation technology helping patients regain certain physical movements, often improving on years of physical therapy. An initial study <\/a>in the United States demonstrated the technology\u2019s effectiveness in improved and sustained hand and arm function for people with SCI. Now, the company has begun its large-scale clinical trial Up-LIFT<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the initial study\u2019s participants was Jessie. Eight years ago, she was driving through the snowy mountains in Washington when a tree fell and hit her car. The accident made her quadriplegic and left her with very little function of her legs and even less of her hands and arms. \u201cI couldn\u2019t move anything,\u201d she says. \u201cThree months after the accident I still could not use my hands. I couldn\u2019t drive my wheelchair with my hands, I had to use a wheelchair with a chin drive. You drive the wheelchair with your mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the WHO<\/a>, between 250,000 and 300,000 people worldwide suffer from a SCI every year. SCI is the second leading cause of paralysis<\/a> in the U.S. Besides physical therapy, there are next to no alternative treatment options. ONWARD is hoping to change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treatment without surgery<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a company that\u2019s dedicated to developing technologies that help people with spinal cord injury,\u201d says CEO Dave Marver<\/a>. According to Marver, many SCI patients stop improving after roughly six months of therapy. With their external stimulation technology, that could change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their device<\/a> consists of a wearable stimulator that uses high-frequency waveform to numb the skin in combination with a lower frequency stimulation pulse which targets and sends energy through the spinal cord. \u201cStimulations brings the neurons in the spinal cord below the injury closer to their threshold to send an action potential to the muscles,\u201d explains Dr. Chet Moritz<\/a>, a professor at the University of Washington who conducted the initial study and is co-pilot of ONWARD’s larger clinical trial. \u201cIt makes them more excitable, but doesn\u2019t actually turn them on all the way. Then the few remaining pathways that may exist between the brain and the spinal cord that pass the lesion are able to cause those muscles to contract when people want to make the movement.\u201d Other than ONWARD\u2019s implantable device<\/a>, it doesn\u2019t require surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of using arms and hands<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

After two years of frequent physical therapy, Jessie had made little progress. She was able to drive her wheelchair with her hands, but her right hand was permanently curled into a fist. \u201cI just struggled. I couldn\u2019t hold a cup. I had to have a straw in it and place it on a table for me to drink,\u201d Jessie remembers. A caregiver she hired and a friend helped her regularly with getting out of or into bed, changing her clothes, and making dinner. \u201cThe not walking, it\u2019s not fun. But not being able to use your hands, that\u2019s what ruins stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research has shown that quadriplegics value the use of hands and arms above the ability to walk<\/a>. Walking is only number five on quadriplegics\u2019 list of priorities, after arm\/hand function, sexual function, trunk stability, and bladder\/bowel movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once Jessie heard of the study conducted in Washington with ONWARD\u2019s technology three years ago, she enrolled. \u201cMy personal philosophy is, if I want to see change and growth in relation to spinal cord injury, I need to do my part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steady improvement<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The study consisted of eight weeks of just physical and occupational therapy. It included a range of activities from trying to turn a key in a lock to tying a shoelace. This was to ensure that patients did not show improvements without ONWARD\u2019s device. \u201cIt was hard, and it made me frustrated. I was like \u2018I can\u2019t do this and doing it ten more times didn\u2019t make me any better at it\u2019,\u201d Jessie recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, stimulation began. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a light switch for me. They didn\u2019t turn on the stimulation and I was better. But I did notice by the end of the session, I was slightly better,\u201d Jessie says. Improvement was steady. \u201cThey wanted you to use both hands to tie a bow. I definitely couldn\u2019t use my right hand at all to help tie that shoelace. And I could now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch the video below to see some of Jessie’s progress: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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