Electronic Aids for Daily Living (EADL):

EADLs are devices and systems that help individuals with a disability gain better control over their environment. These devices are created to meet a variety of needs such as providing voice activation and tongue touch for people with spinal cord injuries.

Products such as ActiveHome, which works with your computer to control your home’s lighting and appliances, can make everyday living a good deal easier. Speaker telephones provide hands-free access to your phone, and products like ERICA give you the ability to control your computer with just your eyes.

For a good resource Website, visit ATRC.

Late last week the Allen Institute for Brain Science revealed its Allen Spinal Cord Atlas. The atlas is the world’s first genome-wide map of the mouse spinal cord. This information will give researchers immediate access to a wealth of free online data that can be applied to spinal cord injury treatment.

According to their press release, there is close to one-quarter of a million Americans who have suffered from a spinal cord injury. With this new map, researchers are able to study diseases and disorders in humans as we share 90 percent of the same genes as mice.

When complete, this atlas will contain an estimated 20,000 genes from both youth and adults. For more information, you can read the press release here.

According to a recent Newswise article, the University of Washington’s Computer Science & Engineering department is working on personalizing computer interfaces based on an individual’s needs. This will take into account your disability and the limitations it imposes, unlike the pre-made devices you buy in the store.

In order to make sure you are properly matched to your computer, the university will administer a skills test that then allows them to generate a mathematical model geared towards your needs. An optimization program will then figure out how long it will take you to finish applicable tasks, measuring your accuracy and speed.

This program, named Supple, will be able to help people with limitations ranging from paralysis to poor eyesight. The creators see this application starting as a Web-based program that will eventually adapt to traditional interfaces.

Currently, the majority of technologies are made to help you adapt, not the other way around. You can buy arm supports, adaptive computer desks and stools, stands for your paperwork, specially designed mice and many other products created to make your computer access easier. Imagine doing away with all of these extra accessories and instead logging directly into a computer that is geared to help you without assistance. A nice idea and one we fully support!

Pain management technology for chronic back pain:

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical treatment involving the implantation of a “brain pacemaker”, a device that sends electrical impulses to areas of the brain, primarily the sensory thalamus, in order to relieve chronic pain. This procedure is used for pain that medication has had no effect on, as it’s not exactly simple and there can be some unpleasant side effects.

Fine electrode wires are inserted into specific parts of the brain, and then they are used to deliver continuous pulses of electricity to the brain regions that process pain signals. By changing brain activity though the depression of excitatory transmissions in the thalamus, pain is effectively “turned off”.

The DBS is made up of the implanted pulse generator (IPG), the lead, which is a wire insulated in polyurethane that the electrical impulses run through, and the extension, which connects the lead to the IPG. The DBS is surgically inserted into the body - the electrode is implanted into a small hole (about 14 mm) that is drilled into the skull under local anesthesia, and then under general anesthesia, the IPG and lead are implanted.

Side effects vary depending on the patient, but some that have been documented are “apathy, hallucinations, compulsive gambling, hypersexuality, cognitive dysfunction and depression”. Wikipedia notes that these effects may be temporary, if experienced at all, and are most likely reversible with either change in placement of the stimulator or its removal.

While there are a handful of procedures that you can turn to if medication fails to be effective, this particular one has a high success rate, some 80 percent over time, and is also reversible should it not work.

With all the discussion lately about the variety of ways to sustain both head and spinal cord injuries (extreme sports, bike riding, trampolines and so on), it’s refreshing to be able to bring your attention to something that reduces your risk!

University of UBC researchers in Vancouver, Canada have created a helmet that will reduce spinal cord injuries due to a head-first collision by an astounding 56 percent. While still in the design stages, researchers say that it will reduce the load on the neck, preventing fractures and spine injuries by deflecting the head.

Initially this helmet will be marketed towards hockey players and then will begin to target other sports activities.

Whether one suffers a traumatic brain injury or a spinal cord injury, stimulation is often one of the keys of recovery. Bioness has developed knee braces that provide direct electronic stimulation of specific nerves and muscles in the legs. Keeping those signals flowing allows muscles to develop while also strengthening existing neural pathways and/or creating new ones. Read more here.

There are three major developments being discussed today in the world of spinal cord injury research:

1. Intra Spinal Micro Stimulation — Alberta, Canada
Dr. Richard Stein of the University of Alberta and his colleagues have been working on an electronic device designed to be placed directly on the spinal cord to assist with walking in SCI survivors. Devices such as this have been around for some time now, but Dr. Stein’s ambition is to create one that records sensory feedback coming from the muscles and nerves in the legs and hips.

Basically, it’s a closed loop system: legs communicate back and forth with the computer. Think of it as an extra “brain” designed specifically to control the lower limbs. Read more here.

2. Enzyme Disolves Scar Tissue — Cambridge University
Researchers at Cambridge University’s Centre for Brain Repair are reporting an exciting discovery this week. They have found that a certain bacterial enzyme is capable of digesting portions of scar tissue which will allow some nerve fibers to regrow.

The formation of scar tissue immediately after spinal cord injury is known to be one of the major factors preventing nerve fibers from properly reconnecting and healing. Read more about this discovery here.

3. New Nanotechnology — Northwestern University
Now this one feels like something straight out of a science fiction movie! Researchers at Northwester University in Chicago have developed a specially designed gel that is injected directly to the injury site.

This gel does several things to help treat SCI. First, it prevents the formation of scar tissue. Secondly, it re-instructs stem cells in the area to develop into myelin-producing cells, rather than scar tissue as they normally would.

The most amazing property of this gel, however, is that it contains self-assembling nanostructures. Building blocks within the gel assemble themselves to form scaffolds upon which axons are able to grow. Read the original story here.

Following right on the heels of yesterday’s story about the spinal cord injury patient in southern Oregon, is this story of SCI patients in the UK. Apparently they too are finding the Nintendo Wii to be a beneficial part of SCI recovery. Sounds like fun too!

Lloyd Millimake is ready to go home after his intensive rehabilitation utilizing, of all things, a Nintendo Wii video game system. Millimake has been at Rogue Valley Medical Center in southern Oregon for a month now, following a motorcycle accident that fractured four vertebrae and severely compressed his spine. His physical therapist chose the Wii to help with his rehabilitation because of its unique requirement of mind and body coordination. Read more here.

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed software which allows the user to use vocal sounds to control their computer. The Vocal Joystick differs from previous methods in that the user does not have to use actual words to complete tasks. The controls are based off of simpler, more easily identifiable sounds such as vowel or consonant sounds. This results in much smoother operation and less error produced by the software. This could be a major breakthrough for easier computer access for people with impaired motor function. Read more here.