A patient at Jefferson Moss Magee Rehab is the first person in Philadelphia to use new technology allowing people who are paralyzed to use their hands. It’s all part of a clinical trial.<\/p>\n
Josh Jones, 45, was paralyzed in a diving accident 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
“At the beginning, I could barely move anything,” Jones said.<\/p>\n
Now at Jefferson Moss Magee Rehab, Jones has some movement in his arms, but his hands aren’t able to grip. That’s changing now with an experimental technology that’s allowing him to feed himself and write.<\/p>\n
“Everything works off a phone,” Jones said.<\/p>\n
Jones’ phone is linked to a neuro network \u2014 a series of electrodes and a power unit that are surgically implanted and attached to paralyzed muscles.<\/p>\n
“Through different technology and movement patterns, we could stimulate paralyzed muscles in a way to restore function,” MJ Mulcahey, an occupational therapist at Jefferson Health, said.<\/p>\n
Mulcahey said while there are some surgical risks with the technology that’s part of a clinical trial, it can provide an important new option for people who are paralyzed.<\/p>\n
“We’re not getting people back to where they were before injury, but we’re giving them functions that’s really impact the quality of their life as they live with their spinal cord injury,” Mulcahey said.<\/p>\n
One of the electrodes is attached to muscles in Jones’ neck that are activated by a grimace with his mouth, which enables him to tighten or loosen the grip.<\/p>\n
Now, for the first time after being paralyzed, Jones is feeling more independent<\/p>\n
“It’s a game changer, it truly is,” Jones said.<\/p>\n
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