The Study of a Neural Interface and a Neurostimulation in the Rehabilitation of Upper Limb Movement Impairments.

About this trial

This trial is enrolling individuals with chronic cervical spinal cord injuries to test the effect of a brain-computer interface device that decodes brain activity to control a robotic device. In this study, participants are trained to use thoughts to command a robotic arm orthosis; this moves the arm and performs life-like tasks in a virtual-reality display. Skin-surface electrical stimulation is also applied either during or before the upper limb orthotic use to activate the spinal cord and/or muscles of the paralyzed arm. The goal is to improve arm mobility. If included, participants will train with the robotic arm over 12 rehabilitation sessions. Optionally, participants may undergo blood tests to investigate lipid levels to measure the effectiveness of the rehabilitation methods. Final testing will be performed after 6 weeks.