'Cyborg' spinal implant could help paralysed walk again

The implant, called e-Dura, is so effective because it mimics the soft tissue around the spine known as the dura mater so that the body does not reject its presence.

Our e-Dura implant can remain for a long period of time on the spinal cord or cortex, said Professor Stphanie Lacour.

This opens up new therapeutic possibilities for patients suffering from neurological trauma or disorders, particularly individuals who have become paralyzed following spinal cord injury.

Previous experiments had shown that chemicals and electrodes implanted in the spine could take on the role of the brain and stimulate nerves, causing the rats' legs to move involuntarily when they were placed on a treadmill.

But this is the first study to show a simple gadget can help rats walk again and be tolerated by the body.

Scientists have struggled to find a device which will sit next to the spine or brain because both are surrounded by a protective envelope of tissue which the hard surface of implants can rub against, causing inflammation and scar tissue.

However the new gadget is flexible and stretchy enough that it can be placed directly onto the spinal cord. It closely imitates the mechanical properties of living tissue, and can simultaneously deliver electric impulses and drugs which activate cells.

The implant is made of silicon and covered with gold electric conducting tracks that can be pulled and stretched. The electrodes are made of silicon and platinum microbeads which can also bend in any direction without breaking.

Writing in the journal Science, where the results were published, science writer Robert Service said: "Soft flexible nerves connected to unyielding silicon and metal - the combination has spawned many a Hollywood cybord.

"The implants Lacours team created still have to be wired to the out- side world to operate, but she and her colleagues are designing wireless versions of the technology. Watch out, Hollywood, reality is catching up."

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'Cyborg' spinal implant could help paralysed walk again