Center for Neuroprosthetics CNP, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland

Website - cnp.epfl.ch

Center director: Prof. Dr. Olaf Blanke

Courtine-lab (G-Lab)

Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces

Team:

Gregoire Courtine

Stephanie P. Lacour

Article "Electronic dura mater for long-term multimodal neural interfaces"

The mechanical mismatch between soft neural tissues and stiff neural implants hinders the long-term performance of implantable neuroprostheses. Here, we designed and fabricated soft neural implants with the shape and elasticity of dura mater, the protective membrane of the brain and spinal cord. The electronic dura mater, which we call e-dura, embeds interconnects, electrodes, and chemotrodes that sustain millions of mechanical stretch cycles, electrical stimulation pulses, and chemical injections. These integrated modalities enable multiple neuroprosthetic applications. The soft implants extracted cortical states in freely behaving animals for brain-machine interface and delivered electrochemical spinal neuromodulation that restored locomotion after paralyzing spinal cord injury.

January 9, 2015

From Rats to Humans: Project NEUWalk Closer to Clinical Trials

Published on Sep 24, 2014

A completely paralyzed rat can be made to walk over obstacles and up stairs by electrically stimulating the severed part of the spinal cord. The EPFL scientists discovered how to control in real-time how the rat moves forward and how high it lifts its limbs. A new lab at the CHUV will extend this technology to human patients as early as next summer using an innovative Gait Platform, bringing the European Project NEUWalk closer to clinical trials.

Read more:
"From Rats to Humans: Project NEUWalk Closer to Clinical Trials"

September 24, 2014

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A neural implant stays in the long term on the spinal cord to restore walking

Published on Jan 8, 2015

EPFL researcher's neural implant can make paralyzed rats walk again. Soft and stretchable, it is the first of its kind that can be implanted directly on the spinal chord, without damaging it. Described in Science, this new generation device called e-Dura combines electrical and chemical stimulation.

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"Neuroprosthetics for paralysis: an new implant on the spinal cord"

January 8, 2015

This Tiny Device May Help the Paralyzed Walk Again

Published on Jan 20, 2015

The E-Dura is a tiny implant that may change lives-- it's shown huge promise in getting paralyzed rats to walk again, and may one day help paralyzed human mobile. How does it work, and how is it better than other options? Kim Horcher discusses with Phil Torres (Scientist, host of Al Jazeera America's TechKnow) and Jason G. Goldman (Scientist, writer for Scientific American, BBC Future).

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