New implant offers promise for the paralyzed

Michel Roccati stands up and walks in Lausanne. The images made headlines around the world in late 2018. David Mzee, who had been left paralyzed by a partial spinal cord injury suffered in a sports accident, got up from his wheelchair and began to walk with the help of a walker. This was the first proof that Courtine and Bloch's system – which uses electrical stimulation to reactivate spinal neurons – could work effectively in patients. Fast forward three years, and a new milestone has just been reached.