A man has been able to move all four of his paralysed limbs with a mind-controlled exoskeleton suit, French researchers report.
Thibault, 30, said taking his first steps in the suit felt like being the "first man on the Moon".
His movements, particularly walking, are far from perfect and the robo-suit is being used only in the lab.
But researchers say the approach could one day improve patients' quality of life.
[...] Prof Tom Shakespeare, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "Although this study presents a welcome and exciting advance, we must remember that proof of concept is a long way from usable clinical possibility.
"A danger of hype always exists in this field.
"Even if ever workable, cost constraints mean that hi-tech options are never going to be available to most people in the world with spinal cord injury."
He said only 15% of people with disabilities had a wheelchair or other assistive devices.
Details of the exoskeleton have been published in The Lancet Neurology journal.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @12:48PM (8 children)
In a world designed for the able-bodied, Exoskeleton Man is king.
Soon we can dismantle the wheelchair ramps and save a few bucks.
Jokes aside, I hope there is a trickle down from this and that medical device pricing doesn't keep them out of the hands of hackers and poor people.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @01:09PM (5 children)
There were jokes?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @01:17PM (4 children)
The trickle down part was a joke. It will be $100,000.
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Wednesday October 09 2019, @01:39PM (3 children)
It will only be that cheap on Tuesdays AND if you clipped the coupon from the newspaper. (remember newspapers?)
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday October 09 2019, @02:30PM (2 children)
Those things like a very large but thin tablet, but with no buttons and an unresponsive touch screen?
Someone told me they never need charging and no connection whatsoever. Preposterous!
Now you are telling me one need to clip coupons from them? Like... no copy/paste? Will wonders never cease?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Funny) by DannyB on Wednesday October 09 2019, @02:58PM (1 child)
One wonderous property of these so-called newspapers was that they were a significantly cheaper way to line bird cages or wrap fish than an iPad. Also, despite the name, iPads are not all that absorbent.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @09:33PM
Listen, nothing beats a serve of fish and chips served on an iPad.
Give it a try, let them on a table outside, you'll see nobody get so enraged to beat the combination.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by nishi.b on Wednesday October 09 2019, @04:30PM (1 child)
Hmmm, in a way I hope that hackers will be able to work on the recorded signals to better control the exoskeleton, but I sure hope no amateur is going to perform the needed brain surgery ! Because the procedure is quite invasive: putting a grid of electrodes inside the skull on the surface of the cortex...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 10 2019, @07:38AM
Exoskeleton doesn't require brain surgery if you have control of your limbs. People who are paraplegic require the brain surgery.
Anyone could use an exoskeleton suit, to lift heavy objects more safely for example.