Selective neural electrical stimulation restores hand and forearm movements in individuals with complete tetraplegia.
Wafa Tigra, Mélissa Dali, Lucie William and 7 others
PMID 32429963WHAT IT FOUND
One cuff electrode around the median or radial nerve produced hand and forearm movements during surgery.
Median stimulation created finger, thumb and wrist flexion, sometimes grip patterns. This was proof of concept, not tested for daily use.
Key findings
01Radial nerve stimulation produced wrist dorsiflexion and finger extension in all four radial-stimulated subjects.
02Median nerve stimulation produced wrist palmar flexion and finger and thumb flexion in all four median-stimulated subjects.
03At least one type of grip was obtained for each subject in the median-stimulated group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The testing was done during a short surgical window, with about 30 minutes for the procedure. Participants were under general anesthesia and were not using the movements voluntarily. The study included eight subjects, and P3 and P6 are the same individual. Only one nerve was tested per subject, either median or radial, not both together. The cuff had limited contacts for some nerves, and the authors state that more contacts may be needed. Grip force was not measured, and stimulation-induced contractions were not graded above 4 on the MRC scale. The paper is a proof of concept, not a test of daily-life function or long-term implantation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this restores voluntary hand control or daily grasp. The movements were produced by electrical stimulation during a short surgical session, grip force was not measured, and awake patient-controlled use was not tested.