Paraplegic patients regain leg feeling via ‘mind control’

Eight people paralysed by spinal cord injuries have regained feeling in their legs after training with brain-controlled robotics.

The “surprising” clinical results, from the Walk Again Project, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, show patients have some sensations and muscle control in their legs. This is hopeful for people who need to regain strength and mobility after spinal-cord injuries or strokes.

Scientists, led by neuroscientist, Miguel Nicolelis, of Duke University in North Carolina, US, used a virtual reality system which harnessed the patients’ own brain activity to simulate control of their legs during the long-term training programme.