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Gert-Jan Oskam who was left paralyzed after a spinal cord injury was able to walk again through a first-of-its-kind procedure. Doctors implanted a “digital brain bridge," which helped the man transform thought into action.

A motorcycle accident left Oskam paralyzed in 2011 when he was living in China.

In Tuesday's press briefing, Oskam said, “For 12 years I’ve been trying to get back my feet. Now I have learned how to walk normal, natural.”

He had previously had stimulation procedures which helped him to regain some ability to walk. But his condition had plateaued. And he claims stimulation technologies left him feeling that there was a disconnect in the process. He felt “an alien distance between his mind and body.”

The new interface changed everything.  “The stimulation before was controlling me, and now I’m controlling the stimulation,” he said.

Digital Brain Bridge connection

In a study published Wednesday in the online journal Nature, Swiss researchers detail a device that connects the intentions of a paralyzed patient to his physical movements. 

Implants provide a digital brain bridge between Mr. Oskam’s brain and his spinal cord. This bypasses the injured sections to link to the part of the brain that controls movement, and another to the spinal cord. 

Implant technology allows Oskam, 40, to stand, walk and ascend a ramp with the assistance of a walker. 

More than a year after the implant was surgically injected, he is walking again. He shows signs of neurological recovery. And is able to walk with crutches even when the implant is switched off.

Jocelyne Bloch, a neuroscientist at the University of Lausanne who placed the implant in Mr. Oskam, added, “It was quite science fiction in the beginning for me, but it became true today.”

In Nature, the brain-spine interface is detailed by researchers. Using an artificial intelligence thought decoder it was able to read Mr. Oskam’s intentions. It sends electrical signals in his brain that match muscle movements. 

Thought to intention to action, creates natural movement. Dr. Courtine described the only addition as the digital bridge spanning the injured parts of the spine.

To achieve this result electrodes were implanted in  Oskam’s skull and spine. And signals between the brain and spine were sent every 300 milliseconds to and from the electrodes. 

A machine-learning program then observes which parts of the brain light up as the patient tries to move different parts of his body. This thought decoder was able to match specific electrode activity with particular intentions. And one configuration lit up whenever Oskam tried to move his ankles, another when he tried to move his hips.