
Spinal stimulator restores function, independence
A novel device, in tandem with rehabilitation, offers hope for regained mobility among patients with long-term injuries.Media Contact: Susan Gregg - 206-390-3226, sghanson@uw.edu
On Dec. 21, 2012, Jessie Owen and her family were traveling over Stevens Pass when a massive tree crashed onto their vehicle. Her parents died and Owen and others sustained severe injuries. Owen was left paralyzed below the shoulders.
She recalls, “I left Harborview Hospital in a power wheelchair with a chin drive.”
For the past 12 years, Owen has undergone extensive therapy and hospital visits, but regained only limited hand function that allows her to drive the wheelchair with a hand gadget.
An unusual opportunity presented itself when Chet Moritz, a professor of rehabilitation medicine and of neurobiology & biophysics at the UW School of Medicine, became the lead investigator in a clinical trial of a novel, FDA-approved device designed to stimulate the spinal cord. The hope was that it would help users recapture lost movement and function.
“When the stimulator is used in combination with rehabilitation, they regain a tremendous amount of function and dexterity,” Moritz said.
Owen, a trial participant, has used the device during clinic visits and has experienced profound changes. Today she can perform daily tasks like opening jars and tying her shoelaces. She also got married and gave birth to twins. The treatment will be launched at Harborview Medical Center with people who have experienced a spinal cord injury for more than one year.
"This is the first step in writing a new chapter in spinal-cord injury research," Owen said. Moritz’s team is now exploring how the clinic device can be used at home.
Download broadcast-ready soundbites and related multimedia with Moritz and Owen.
Related: Device restores hand function for some with spinal injury