{"id":3398,"date":"2024-05-21T11:41:59","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T11:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/21\/extraordinary-device-could-let-paralysed-people-regain-movement-in-arms-and-hands\/"},"modified":"2024-05-21T11:41:59","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T11:41:59","slug":"extraordinary-device-could-let-paralysed-people-regain-movement-in-arms-and-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/21\/extraordinary-device-could-let-paralysed-people-regain-movement-in-arms-and-hands\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Extraordinary\u2019 device could let paralysed people regain movement in arms and hands"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A device that sends an electrical “buzz” through the skin could allow people who were paralysed several decades ago to regain movement in their arms and hands.<\/p>\n

The ARC-EX device sends an electrical current to the spinal cord through surface electrodes, increasing strength, sensation and ability to move in people with paraplegia.<\/p>\n

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Volunteers who took part in the first clinical trial of its kind say the effects were astonishing.<\/p>\n

Melanie Reid, a columnist for The Times newspaper, who was paralysed after falling off a horse 14 years ago, used the device for several months.<\/p>\n

“Everyone thinks with spinal injury that all you want to do is be able to walk again, but if you are tetraplegic or quadriplegic [where all four limbs experience paralysis], what matters most is having working hands,” she said.<\/p>\n

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“My left hand has always been useless, with very little sensation.<\/p>\n

“I’m delighted to say that after doing the trial, my left hand is much stronger.<\/p>\n

“I can use it and got some grip back in it. I can scroll a tablet or phone, I can release the seat belt and put my hair in a ponytail, which I couldn’t do before.”<\/p>\n

90% saw meaningful improvement<\/strong><\/p>\n

The international study included 60 patients who had their spinal injury between one year ago and 30 years earlier.<\/p>\n

All had a clinic-based rehabilitation programme for two months, followed by the same rehab but this time with the addition of ARC-EX stimulation therapy.<\/p>\n

According to results, published in the journal Nature Medicine, 90% had clinically meaningful improvement in one measure of strength or function, and 72% in two measures.<\/p>\n

Significantly, 87% reported a better quality of life.<\/p>\n

Benefits persist beyond stimulation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr Chet Moritz, a rehabilitation medicine specialist at the University of Washington in the US, and one of the study co-authors, said: “The difference with this stimulation is that it doesn’t directly cause the movement as many prior treatments do.<\/p>\n

“It actually makes it easier for people to move, including people who have complete loss of movements in their hands and arms.<\/p>\n

“There are benefits even when the stimulator is turned off.<\/p>\n

“We believe it is healing part of the damage to the spinal cord injury such that the benefits persist beyond stimulation.”<\/p>\n

Enhances growth of new nerve connections<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ARC-EX device, made by the company Onward Medical, is a small box that is programmed to deliver a specific pattern of electrical pulses at high frequency through electrode pads worn over the spinal cord.<\/p>\n

Scientists involved in the trial believe the high frequency numbs pain nerves in the skin so a stronger electrical current can be sent to sensory nerve fibres within the spinal cord.<\/p>\n

This not only makes the treatment more effective than previous attempts at stimulation, but also enhances the growth of new nerve connections, they said.<\/p>\n

“It’s possible this device won’t function for those 10% of people who have complete anatomical separation between the brain and lower spinal cord,” Dr Moritz said.<\/p>\n

“But for the other 90% of the people, I think it’s a good candidate.<\/p>\n

“We have seen people with no movement in their hands and arms regaining movement while they experience this stimulation.”<\/p>\n

‘A strange sensation, not unpleasant’<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ms Reid said she felt no pain from the stimulation, only a “buzz”.<\/p>\n

“It’s a strange sensation, but not unpleasant,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I can only wish this had been around 14 years ago. It would have meant so much and done an enormous amount of good at an early stage of my injury.<\/p>\n

“After 14 years, you kind of think ‘I am where I am’, nothing’s going to change.<\/p>\n

“And suddenly to find that I had more power and function in my fingers and thumb that were completely useless before was extraordinary.<\/p>\n

“Psychologically it makes you put your head up, your shoulders back and look at life differently.”<\/p>\n

Read more tech news on Sky News:
Scientists find proteins in blood could be sign of future cancer
Police could get ‘ghostbusters-style’ devices to stop e-bikes
Doctor still cancer-free almost a year from diagnosis after pioneering treatment<\/strong><\/p>\n

The researchers believe the electrical stimulator could in future be used to help people with paralysis to walk, as well as improve recovery from strokes.<\/p>\n

Other companies are developing implantable devices that can improve movement and function in people with paralysis, but having a non-invasive option is significant.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on sky.com<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A device that sends an electrical “buzz” through the skin could allow people who were paralysed several decades ago to regain movement in their arms and hands. The ARC-EX device sends an electrical current to the spinal cord through surface electrodes, increasing strength, sensation and ability to move in people with paraplegia. Volunteers who took <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3399,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}