Non-invasive electrical stimulation of cervical spinal cord to facilitate arm & hand functional recovery in incomplete traumatic cervical spinal cord
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: Biosciences Institute
Abstract
Injuries to the spinal cord can lead to paralysis of the arms and hands with devastating consequences for quality of life. This collaborative project aims to develop a new approach to restoring function to the upper-limb using painless electrical stimulation of the spinal cord delivered through the skin. The novel stimulation patterns will be developed and optimised in animal experiments before testing with human volunteers suffering from spinal cord injury. We hope to understand the mechanisms by which transcutaneous spinal stimulation can boost the excitability of the nervous system and enhance neuroplasticity, leading to lasting beneficial effects on everyday tasks for those suffering with upper-limb paralysis.
Technical Summary
Manual dexterity is indispensable for carrying out the vast majority of our normal daily activities, ranging from object manipulation to nonverbal communication. Damage to the connectome controlling the upper extremities inflicts devastating consequences, as the patient's lifestyle becomes dependent on supportive devices, which drastically reduce their freedom to perform activities of daily living. From all the physio-pathological symptoms developed following a cervical SCI, patients have emphasized a high priority for finding therapies to restore arm/hand function. Bioengineering is opening a new opportunity in restorative neuroscience. These technologies aim to facilitate or to enhance residual function without the need for long-distance regeneration of severed axons. This project will investigate a new transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation technique that aims to boost spinal cord excitability and facilitate beneficial plasticity in order to produce lasting improvement to upper-limb function using a non-invasive approach. A combination of animal and patient studies will be used to optimise stimulation parameters, explore the mechanisms of facilitation and demonstrate this exciting new technique.
Planned Impact
If successful, the results of this project will support the development of a new treatment to improve manual dexterity in cervical spinal cord inured patients. The experiments will further present a comprehensive, systematic and detailed analysis of the mechanisms underlying the recovery and thus provide an indispensable guideline for the application of stimulation-based therapy to spinal cord-injured patients.
Publications
Petkos K
(2019)
A high-performance 4 nV (vHz)-1 analog front-end architecture for artefact suppression in local field potential recordings during deep brain stimulation.
in Journal of neural engineering
Petkos K
(2019)
A high-performance 8 nV/vHz 8-channel wearable and wireless system for real-time monitoring of bioelectrical signals.
in Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation
Guiho T
(2021)
Epidural and transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation facilitates descending inputs to upper-limb motoneurons in monkeys.
in Journal of neural engineering
Description | Royal Society iHuman Report |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | Dr Tim Constandinou was co-chair for the Royal Society Steering Group on Neural Interface Technologies. He helped lead the writing of the report and was a key member of its dissemination. The report has informed policy makers (different government departments, including the PM directly who mentioned neural interfaces at a talk to the UN), funding (e.g. EPSRC has issued a neurotechnology call as outcome of iHuman), other initiatives e.g. Neurotechnology special interest group (within KTN/Innovate UK) that has recently developed a UK roadmap for neurotechnology. Prof Andrew Jackson and Dr Andrew Sims were members of the Neural Interfaces Steering Group. Both Prof Jackson and Dr Sims wrote scientific papers to accompany the main report. |
URL | https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/ihuman-perspective/ |
Description | EPSRC Ideas to Innovation - Closed-loop Neural Interface Technologies (Close-NIT) Network Plus |
Amount | £1,106,216 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/W035081/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2022 |
End | 05/2025 |
Description | Wellcome Manufacturing Facility for First-in-Patient Complex Medical Devices |
Amount | £5,201,550 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 214906/Z/18/Z |
Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2019 |
End | 11/2025 |
Description | BBC Tomorrow's World, The Wizard's Hat |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Featured in BBC Tomorrow's World programme 'The Wizard's Hat' about neural interfaces |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05jngwy |
Description | New Scientist Live |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk on neural interfaces at New Scientist Live event held at ExCel centre and associated publicity |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://live.newscientist.com/new-scientist-live-2017?page=6#/ |