Implant for Paralysis
Project Overview
University
Year
About
Spinal cord injuries (SCI) severely impact motor functions, often leading to secondary health issues, and recovery remains a challenging medical issue. Intraspinal microstimulation (ISMS) has shown promise in restoring functional walking, with successful non-human trials indicating potential clinical application in humans. The current ISMS technology relies on microwires connected to an implantable pulse generator, posing risks of complications such as tethering and cerebrospinal fluid leakage. To address this, Implant for Paralysis are developing a novel interface using the Wireless Floating Microelectrode Array (WFMA), which has demonstrated stability as a brain interface in clinical trials. This innovation aims to provide a stable spinal interface, setting a new standard for SCI treatment and showing potential applications for chronic pain management.
Team
Omar Tawakol
University of California, Berkeley
I earned my PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, where I was part of a pioneering team developing an intracortical vision prosthesis (ICVP)—a groundbreaking system designed to restore vision for individuals with complete blindness. On February 14, 2022, 25 stimulators, comprising 400 electrodes, were surgically implanted in a blind participant. Over the following two years, clinical trials demonstrated that the prosthesis significantly enhanced participants' ability to navigate and perform basic visually guided tasks, marking a major milestone in the field of artificial vision.
Gallery
