On chinadaily.com.cn

Tech: Paralyzed man walks via exoskeleton

A man paralyzed from the shoulders down has been able to walk using a pioneering fourlimb robotic system, or exoskeleton, that is commanded and controlled by signals from his brain. With a ceiling-mounted harness for balance, the 28-year-old tetraplegic patient used a system of sensors implanted near his brain to send messages to move all four of his paralyzed limbs after a 2-year-long trial of the exoskeleton. The results, published in The Lancet Neurology journal recently, bring doctors a step closer to one day being able to help paralyzed patients drive computers using brain signals alone, according to researchers who led the work. For now, the exoskeleton is an experimental prototype and is "far from clinical application", they said.

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