Help For Victims Of Spinal Cord Injuries
Recently, a number of studies have looked into ways to help victims of catastrophic brain and spinal cord injuries.
This past week, the Wall Street Journal reported on scientists’ progress in re-wring brain waves to assist those paralyzed because of Spinal Cord Injuries (SCIs), stroke or disease. SCIs refer to any type of injury to the spinal cord that causes a loss of function – this may be a car accident, sport accident, medical malpractice, or other trauma. In many SCI cases, paralysis occurs at the area below the level of injury.
In both SCIs and brain injuries, accident victims are unable to transmit the brain’s messages to the rest of the body.
By finding ways to “re-route” these brain signals, scientists hope to enable those paralyzed to perform some everyday functions. A leading neurobiologist at Duke University’s school of medicine explains with paralysis “the body you live in has changed. You need to remap … how commands from the brain get to the rest of the body.” Duke has recently received a grant to begin testing on a full-body prosthetic controlled solely by the patient’s brain waves.
Scientists have also reported similar studies aimed at helping those with Traumatic Brain Injuries.
These methods are designed to restore accident victims’ ability to perform some of the daily tasks they no longer can accomplish due to their injuries.
For more information, or if you have sustained a Spinal Cord or Traumatic Brain Injury, contact Bostwick & Peterson, LLP for a free consultation.
