A STROKE survivor left partially paralysed can use her hand for the first time in years thanks to an electric spinal implant.
Scientists created a device that can reconnect damaged nerves, boosting grip strength and limb control.
PAHeather Rendulic, who took part in the study, said: “I have control over my arm and hand that I haven’t had in over nine years”[/caption]
Marc Powell et alMs Rendulic, now in her 30s, suffered five strokes when she was just 22 years old[/caption]
Heather Rendulic, from Pittsburgh, suffered five strokes at the age of 22.
She joined the study aged 31 and was immediately able to use her hand again.
Spinal cord stimulation allowed her to use a knife and fork to eat and to pick up and move a can of soup.
She said: “When the stimulation is on I feel like I have control over my arm and hand that I haven’t had in over nine years.
“It feels kind of like a tickle. It’s never painful but it takes some getting used to.
“It’s just awesome.”
There are 1.3million stroke survivors in the UK and 7million in the US.
Three quarters suffer from arm or leg weakness due to nerve damage.
There is no cure except waiting for nerves to heal and physiotherapy to strengthen muscles.
Experts tested electrical stimulation on two people and hope it will help patients recover.
Dr Elvira Pirondini, from the University of Pittsburgh, said: “From day one they could open their hand and move it naturally – there was no training needed.
“This is very important because it means we can progress faster and rehabilitate faster.”
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, involved Ms Rendulic and another woman aged 47.
They had surgical implants placed on part of their spines, where nerves from the arms connect to the main spinal cord, for 29 days.
When switched on, the stimulation helps nerve signals run from the brain to the hands – where before the signals were slowed or blocked completely by stroke damage.
Study co-author Dr Marco Capogrosso added: “Perhaps even more interesting we found that, after a few weeks of use, some of the improvements continue when the stimulation is switched off.”
Scientists said it could be another two years until the gadgets are widely available and they need to do bigger studies first.
Previous research found the same technique could help paralysed people walk again.
Italian Michel Roccati could walk for the first time after breaking his spine in a motorbike crash in 2017 thanks to a Swiss study.