Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 4, 2026
Training Persons with Spinal Cord Injury to Ambulate Using a Powered Exoskeleton
Published on: June 16, 2016
Spatiotemporal spinal cord stimulation with real-time triggering exoskeleton restores walking capability: a
Penghao Liu1,2, Yuanchen Cheng1,2, Zhuofan Xu1,2
1Department of Neurosurgery, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Objective:
Motor recovery is challenging for spinal cord injury (SCI), especially in low-level SCI.
Methods:
A 16-year-old patient with complete SCI at T12 presented flaccid paralysis and inability to control defecation and was scored as ASIA A at admission. The patient underwent spinal cord stimulation (SCS) implantation at the T11-L1, followed by an innovative algorithm combining spatiotemporal SCS with real-time triggered exoskeleton training (EXS-SCS).
Results:
After 1 month of treatment, she gained substantial improvement in her iliopsoas and quadriceps femoris muscle strength to grade 3-4 as well as percutaneous EMG, allowing for assisted standing and walking, and was reassessed as ASIA C.
Interpretation:
This case reveals the potential of SCS-EXS regimen in restoring walking capability of SCI patients.
