A mother-of-three with locked-in syndrome can communicate again thanks to a groundbreaking brain transplant.
It is the first time scientists have ever managed to reverse the effects of amyotrophic laterla sclerosis (ALS), which gradually paralyzes the body, giving sufferers a life expectancy of two to five years.
Hanneke de Bruijne, a 58-year-old from the Netherlands, was diagnosed with the degenerative disease in 2008.
By 2015, she was in the late stages of the illness, unable to speak, move, or even breathe without a mechanical ventilator.
But that year, she was admitted to University Medical Center Utrecht to receive a brain implant that would reverse some of the damage done to her nervous system.
Scientists inserted four thin electrode strips that now sit on her motor cortex, which controls voluntary movement.
Within 28 weeks, de Bruijne could independently control a computer-typing program to communicate with her loved-ones and carers.
She can now compose sentences at the rate of two words per minute.
The procedure, unveiled for the first time this week in the New England Journal Of Medicine, has been hailed as the biggest step in neurological research for years.
Experts hope it could one day be used to reverse the effects of other kinds of brain diseases.
‘This is a major breakthrough in achieving autonomous communication among severely paralyzed patients whose paralysis is caused by either ALS, a cerebral hemorrhage or trauma,’ Professor Nick Ramsey, who teaches cognitive neuroscience at the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht, said.
‘In effect, this patient has had a kind of remote control placed in her head, which enables her to operate a speech computer without the use of her muscles.’
Prior to the procedure, de Bruijne was using an eye-tracking program. However, it was too temperamentally affected by the light.
Now, de Bruijne uses a tablet.
The tablet shows a series of letters, and a red cursor moves slowly across the screen hovering over each letter.
When de Bruijne wants to select a letter, she imagines bringing her thumb and forefinger together.
That attempt at motion is detected by the electrode strip, creating a ‘brain click’.
Over time, the tablet gets used to the letters and words de Briujne uses most, bringing them up first.
Writing in an email to CNN, de Bruijne said: ‘The implant gives me freedom, independence and safety.
‘It enables me to enjoy my garden and going outdoors in nature.’
Daily Mail
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