R.I. team researching novel therapy for spinal-cord injuries – The Providence Journal

Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital team up on new federally funded artificial-intelligence research.

PROVIDENCE A team from Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital has embarked on novel research with a goal of helping to restore bladder control and limb movement to individuals living with spinal-cord injuries, the school announced on Thursday.

Led by David Borton, an assistant professor at Browns School of Engineering and a member of the universitys Carney Institute for Brain Science, the research aims to use an experimental electronic device to bridge the gap between signals above the injury site (or lesion) and signals below it, the university said. Spinal-cord injuries disrupt the normal two-way flow of neurological messaging, which connects the brain to other organs and body systems.

We know that circuits around a spinal lesion often remain active and functional, Borton said. The hope is that by using information from either side of a lesion in a bi-directional way, we could make a significant impact on the treatment of spinal-cord injuries. This exploratory study aims to build the tool set the mix of hardware, software and functional understanding of the spinal cord to make such a system possible.

Scientists are recruiting volunteers for the study. The research is made possible by a grant of $6.3 million from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and will involve collaboration with Intel and Micro-Leads Medical. A key portion of the project is developing artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to decode spinal signals recorded from the spine, according to Brown.

This is truly a transformational effort that has the potential to have a significant impact in the lives of patients with spinal cord injury, particularly for our veterans with war-related spinal-cord damage, said Dr. Ziya Gokaslan, neurosurgeon-in-chief at Rhode Island and Miriam hospitals, clinical director of Lifespans Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute and chair of neurosurgery at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown.

Borton has emerged as a leader in research aimed at helping individuals with spinal-cord injuries since he published a paper three years ago in Nature reporting success by him and other scientists in restoring function to the temporarily paralyzed legs of monkeys.

Likewise, the Carney Institute, established last year with a $100-million gift, is helping to push the frontiers of neuroscience.

In a related development, Brown and Boston-based Hebrew SeniorLife last month were awarded a $53.4-million federal grant to develop ways to improve health care and quality of life for people with Alzheimers disease.

-- gwmiller@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7380

On Twitter: @gwaynemiller

Continue reading here:
R.I. team researching novel therapy for spinal-cord injuries - The Providence Journal