Implant location of
the micro electrode array shown on the rubrospinal tract (RST)
at the C5 level of the
rat spinal cord.
(October 17, 2011) A new wireless device to help victims of
spinal cord injury is receiving attention in the research community. Mesut
Sahin, PhD, associate professor in the department of biomedical engineering at
NJIT, recently has published and presented news of his findings to develop
micro-electrical stimulators for individuals with spinal cord injuries.
The work, now in its third year
of support from a four-year, $1.4 million National Institutes of Health (NIH)
grant, has resulted in the development and testing of a technology known by its
acronym, FLAMES (floating light activated micro-electrical stimulators). The
technology, really a tiny semiconductor device, will eventually enable people
with spinal cord injuries to restore some of the motor functions that are lost
due to injury. Energized by an infrared light beam through an optical fiber
located just outside the spinal cord these micro-stimulators will activate the
nerves in the spinal cord below the point of injury and thus allow the use of
the muscles that were once paralyzed.