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Tag: Prostheses

  • Elon Musk says the first human has received an implant from Neuralink, but other details are scant

    Elon Musk says the first human has received an implant from Neuralink, but other details are scant

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    NEW YORK — According to Elon Musk, the first human received an implant from his computer-brain interface company Neuralink over the weekend.

    In a Monday post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Musk said that the patient received the implant the day prior and was “recovering well.” He added that “initial results show promising neuron spike detection.”

    The billionaire, who co-founded Neuralink, did not provide additional details about the patient. When Neuralink announced in September that it would begin recruiting people, the company said it was searching for individuals with quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

    Neuralink reposted Musk’s Monday post on X, but did not publish any additional statements acknowledging the human implant. The company did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ requests for comment Tuesday.

    The Associated Press also reached out to The Food and Drug Administration for comment.

    Neuralink’s device is about the size of a large coin and is designed to be implanted in the skull, with ultra-thin wires going directly into the brain. In its September announcement, Neuralink said the wires would be surgically placed in a region of the brain that controls movement intention. The initial goal of the so-called brain computer interface is to give people the ability to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone.

    In a separate Monday post on X, Musk said that the first Neuralink product is called “Telepathy” — which, he said, will enable users to control their phones or computers “just by thinking.” He added that intial users would be those who have lost use of their limbs.

    It’s unclear how well this device or similar interfaces will ultimately work, or how safe they might be. Clinical trials are designed to collect data on safety and effectiveness.

    Neuralink is one of many groups working on linking the nervous system to computers, efforts aimed at helping treat brain disorders, overcoming brain injuries and other applications. There are more than 40 brain computer interface trials underway, according to clinicaltrials.gov.

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    Laura Ungar contributed to this report from Columbia, Missouri.

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  • Nigerian group provides hundreds of prosthetic limbs to amputee children thanks to crowdfunding

    Nigerian group provides hundreds of prosthetic limbs to amputee children thanks to crowdfunding

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    LAGOS, Nigeria — The accident that broke 10-year-old Princess Igbinosa’s right leg could have crushed her dreams of becoming a model in a country where not many can afford prosthetics to cope with life and fight social stigma.

    “It was heartbreaking when they told us they had to amputate it (the leg),” her mother, Esther Igbinosa, said of Princess’s experience in 2020. “During the first few months of her amputation … I just wake up and start crying. I was like, how is she going to cope with life with an amputated leg?”

    But Princess can now walk and her dreams are alive again, thanks to an artificial leg that matches the tone of her skin. The prosthesis came from the IREDE Foundation, a Nigerian group that provides children like her with free artificial limbs that normally cost $2,000 to $3,000.

    “My dream is to become a model,” Princess said. “When the accident happened, I thought I couldn’t become a model. But now that I have two legs, I can become whatever I want — model, doctor, whatever.”

    Founded in 2012 in Nigeria’s economic hub of Lagos, IREDE has provided more than 500 artificial limbs at no cost in addition to psychosocial support to children like Princess, said its executive director, Crystal Chigbu. She said the group gets up to 70% of its funding from crowdsourcing.

    Chigbu said her inspiration to start the foundation came from her daughter’s experience with being born with limb deformity.

    The child amputees the foundation has helped can “do things that they would never have imagined that they would do,” said Chigbu.

    While there is no verifiable data on how many Nigerians are living with amputated limbs, IREDE is one of several groups providing such services amid a great need.

    It is a huge source of relief in Nigeria where people with disabilities struggle with stigma and limb replacements make them more accepted in their communities, said Dr. Olasode Isreal-Akinmokun, an orthopedic surgeon.

    “We have limbs that function almost as perfectly as the limbs that have been lost,” he said.

    In addition to providing artificial limbs to children, Chigbu said, IREDE is also educating people about limb loss to deter stigma and it encourages support groups among parents of affected children.

    “We come from a culture of people just saying (that) when you have a disability it is either taboo or people just look down on you. We are ensuring that whether it is in the school or even when they find themselves in the workplace as they grow, that people accept them and know that they have their abilities,” she said.

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    Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria.

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  • The war took away their limbs. Now bionic prostheses empower wounded Ukrainian soldiers

    The war took away their limbs. Now bionic prostheses empower wounded Ukrainian soldiers

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    KYIV, Ukraine — When Alexis Cholas lost his right arm as a volunteer combat medic near the front lines in eastern Ukraine, his civilian career as a surgeon was over. But thanks to a new bionic arm, he was able to continue working in health care and is now a rehab specialist helping other amputees.

    The 26-year-old is delighted with his sleek black robotic arm — he described it as “love at first sight” — and realizes how lucky he was to get one.

    “There are fewer (bionic) arms available than lost ones,” Cholas said.

    Russia’s war on Ukraine has created a massive need for prosthetic limbs. An estimated 20,000 Ukrainians have had amputations since the war started in February 2022, many of them soldiers who lost arms or legs due to blast wounds.

    Only a small number was able to receive bionic prostheses, which are more advanced and can provide greater mobility than the traditional prosthetic limbs.

    They are also far more costly than conventional prostheses.

    Bionic artificial limbs typically pick up electrical signals from the muscles that remain above the amputation site, thanks to something called myoelectric technology, to carry out an intended motion.

    Cholas’ bionic arm was made by Esper Bionics. Before 2022, the Ukrainian startup primarily targeted the United States market, but due to the sharp rise in demand for prosthetic limbs caused by the war, Esper now distributes 70% of its products at home.

    The company’s production hub in the capital of Kyiv is working at full capacity, with more than 30 workers producing about dozen bionic hands a month.

    In one corner of the factory, a small group of engineers huddle as they program, assemble and test the elegant bionic arms — known as Esper Hand. Each finger’s movement on the robotic hand is accompanied by a soft whirring sound, assuring the engineers of its smooth operation.

    Bohdan Diorditsa, head of strategic relations at the company, says that despite ramping up production, Esper Bionics is struggling to keep up with demand, with almost 120 people on the waitlist.

    In Ukraine, the company says it provides the bionic prostheses at zero profit for about $7,000 a piece, just enough to cover production costs. In the United States, the Esper Hand sells for more than $20,000.

    “We do not consider Ukraine as a market, but rather as an opportunity to help,” says Diorditsa.

    Compared to a conventional prosthesis, which is designed to replicate simple basic functions of a missing arm or leg, a bionic one offers the capability to restore fine motor skills.

    “Everyone wants them,” says Anton Haidash, a prosthetist at Unbroken, a municipal center in the city of Lviv that focuses on rehabilitation of civilians and soldiers affected by the war. The center has helped provide prosthetic limbs to about 250 people so far, including about 20 bionic arms.

    The difference in cost is significant. While bionic limbs can cost up to $50,000, conventional artificial limbs are priced at $800-$2,700, Haidash says.

    Ukrainians can get the regular artificial limbs free of charge through the public health care system. However, to get a bionic prosthesis, they normally need additional funding from charities or rehabilitation centers such as Unbroken, which depend on donations.

    And while patients can make the final decision about the type of prostheses they want, a variety of factors, including the nature of the injury and the person’s occupation, also play a role.

    Unbroken purchases bionic prostheses from German and Icelandic companies as well as Esper Bionics, whose notable advantage is having both a manufacturing and a service center in Ukraine. This means people don’t need to travel abroad when a repair or resizing is required.

    Another outstanding characteristic of the Esper Hand, which is powered by artificial intelligence, is its ability to adapt over time, learning the user’s unique interactions with the hand.

    After getting outfitted with his bionic arm, Cholas went back to volunteering as a combat medic on the front lines, while in his day job in Kyiv he works as a rehabilitation specialist in a public hospital. Most of his patients are members of the military or civilians who, like him, have lost limbs. He says their shared experience helps him quickly develop a rapport with his patients.

    “I now know a lot not only from textbooks but also from my own experience,” he says.

    Cholas speaks to his patients encouragingly as he examines their injuries. His movements with the bionic hand are natural and fluid. He effortlessly removes a bandage and dresses a patient’s wounds without the assistance of nurses.

    The bionic prosthesis allows him to perform even delicate movements, such as picking up a grape without crushing it, he says.

    “I feel uncomfortable when I’m without the prosthesis,” he says. “But when I have the bionic arm on, I feel comfortable. It’s like a part of you.”

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    Associated Press photographer Evegeniy Maloletka in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

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    Find more of AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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  • In test, zaps to spine help 2 stroke survivors move arms

    In test, zaps to spine help 2 stroke survivors move arms

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    WASHINGTON — A stroke left Heather Rendulic with little use of her left hand and arm, putting certain everyday tasks like tying shoes or cutting foods out of reach.

    “I live one-handed in a two-handed world and you don’t realize how many things you need two hands for until you only have one good one,” the Pittsburgh woman told The Associated Press.

    So Rendulic volunteered for a first-of-its-kind experiment: Researchers implanted a device that zaps her spinal cord in spots that control hand and arm motion. When they switched it on, she could grasp and manipulate objects — moving a soup can, opening a lock and by the end of the four-week study, cutting her own steak.

    It’s not a cure — the improvements ended after scientists removed the temporary implant — and the pilot study included only Rendulic and one other stroke survivor. But the preliminary results, published Monday, mark a step toward one day restoring mobility for this extremely common type of paralysis.

    “They’re not just getting flickers of movement. They’re getting something important,” said Dr. Jason Carmel, a Columbia University neurologist who wasn’t involved with the new experiment but also studies ways to recover upper-limb function. “It’s a very exciting proof of concept.”

    Nearly 800,000 people in the U.S. alone suffer a stroke each year. Even after months of rehabilitation, well over half are left with permanently impaired arm and hand function that can range from muscle weakness to paralysis.

    Experiments by multiple research groups have found that implanting electrodes to stimulate the lower spine shows promise for restoring leg and foot movement to people paralyzed after a spinal cord injury — some have even taken steps.

    But upper-limb paralysis has gotten little attention and is inherently more challenging. The brain must signal multiple nerves that control how the shoulder lifts, the wrist turns and the hand flexes. Stroke damage makes it harder for those messages to get through.

    “People still retain some of this connection, they’re just not enough to enable movement,” said University of Pittsburgh assistant professor Marco Capogrosso, who led the new research with colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University. “These messages are weaker than normal.”

    His idea: Stimulate a pathway of related nerve cells so they’re better able to sense and pick up the brain’s weak signal.

    “We’re not bypassing their control. We’re enhancing their capabilities to move their own arm,” he said.

    Researchers turned to implants the size of spaghetti strands that already are used to stimulate the spine for chronic pain treatment. The implants carry electrodes that are placed on the surface of the spinal cord to deliver pulses of electricity to the targeted nerve cells — which for hand and arm control are in the spine’s neck region.

    Rendulic and a second, more severely impaired volunteer could move better as soon as the stimulator was switched on — and by the study’s end showed improved muscle strength, dexterity and range of motion, researchers reported Monday in the journal Nature Medicine. Surprisingly, both participants retained some improvement for about a month after the implants were removed.

    Rendulic, now 33, was performing some fine-motor tasks for the first time since suffering a stroke in her 20s. That unusually young stroke, caused by weak blood vessels that bled inside her brain, initially paralyzed her entire left side. She learned to walk again but — with the exception of those four weeks with spinal stimulation — cannot fully open her left hand or completely raise that arm.

    “You feel like there’s a barrier between your brain and your arm,” Rendulic said. But with the stimulation on, “I could immediately sense that, like, oh my arm and hand are still there.”

    Two other researchers who helped pioneer experiments stimulating the lower limbs of people with spinal cord injuries say it’s logical to now try the technology for stroke.

    While bigger and longer studies are needed, the new results “are really promising,” said Mayo Clinic assistant professor Peter Grahn.

    Scientists have learned from research with lower limbs that “it may not matter where that injury occurs, if it’s something in the brain or it’s a spinal cord injury,” added University of Louisville professor Susan Harkema. “Targeting the human spinal cord circuitry has a lot of potential.”

    With National Institutes of Health funding, Capogrosso is studying the approach in a few more stroke survivors. The researchers also have formed a company to further develop the technology.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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