To date, patients with a complete quadriplegia have no solution to retrieve lost hand functions. AI-HAND proposes a solution based on multicontact neural stimulation cuff electrodes. The developments will be validated during a First-In-Man clinical trial.
In two previous projects: AGILIS funded by EIT-Health (2019-20) and AGILISTIM funded by Isite MUSE, (2021-23), 4 participants with complete tetraplegia were implanted (Clinique St Jean) with 2 epineural electrodes wrapped around median and radial nerves. The electrodes (Cortec) were connected via cables to an external electrical stimulator (INRIA, NEURINNOV). The electrodes were maintained over 30 days (Centre Bouffard Vercelli). Both participants were able to grasp different objects.
A series of videos to detail the different aspects of the project and obtained results were realized:
AGILIS
Preparation of the electrode surgery – VIDEO 1
Two hours of surgery to place the electrodes – VIDEO 2
Functional testing, adjustment and measurement phase with the patients- VIDEO 3
Interviews of the two participants – VIDEO 4
AGILISTIM
Interview of participant 1 – Video 5
Interview of participant 2 – VIDEO 6
See also LINK
In Ai-Hand an active implanted medical device will be developed and validated in 4 volunteers.
Related publications:
- Christine Azevedo Coste, Lucie William, Lucas Fonseca, Arthur Hiairrassary, David Andreu, Antoine Geffrier, Jacques Teissier, Charles Fattal, David Guiraud, “Activating effective functional hand movements in individuals with complete tetraplegia through neural stimulation.” Nature Scientific Rep., 2022
- Charles Fattal, Jacques Teissier, Antoine Geffrier, Lucas Fonseca, Lucie William, David Andreu, David Guiraud, Christine Azevedo Coste, “Restoring hand functions in people with tetraplegia through multi-contact, fascicular and auto-pilot stimulation: a proof-of-concept demonstration”, Journal of Neurotrauma, 2022
- Wafa Tigra, Mélissa Dali, Lucie William, Charles Fattal, Anthony Gélis, Jean-Louis Divoux, Bertrand Coulet, Jacques Teissier, David Guiraud, Christine Azevedo, “Selective neural electrical stimulation restores hand and forearm movements in individuals with complete tetraplegia“, Journal of NeuroEngineering et Rehabilitation, 2020.
- Lucas Fonseca, Wafa Tigra, Benjamin Navarro, David Guiraud, Charles Fattal, Antonio Padilha Bo, Emerson Fachin Martins, Violaine Leyneart, Anthony Gélis, Christine Azevedo “Assisted Grasping in Individuals with Tetraplegia: Improving Control through Residual Muscle Contraction and Movement“, Sensors, MDPI, 2019, 19 (20).
- Mélissa Dali, Lucie William, Wafa Tigra, Hubert Taillades, Olivier Rossel, Christine Azevedo , David Guiraud “Relevance of selective neural stimulation with a multicontact cuff electrode using multicriteria analysis” PlosOne, 2019.
- Wafa Tigra, Benjamin Navarro, Andrea Cherubini, Xavier Gorron, Anthony Gélis, et al.. “A novel EMG interface for individuals with tetraplegia to pilot robot hand grasping.” IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 2018, 26 (2), pp.291-298.
