With the support of Rolex Perpetual Planet, neuroscientist Grégoire Courtine and his team at Laboratoire NeuroRestore are working on finding a cure for paralysis
In the picturesque fields of Switzerland, a breakthrough in medical technology is giving hope to those paralysed by spinal cord injuries. Under the leadership of Grégoire Courtine, winner of the 2019 Rolex Awards for Enterprise, researchers have created an implantable device that bridges the gap between the brain and spine, allowing paralysed patients to walk again simply by thinking about it.
Courtine, a neuroscientist, and co-director of a research, innovation and treatment centre called Laboratoire NeuroRestore, has dedicated his career to finding a cure for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury. Along with his research partner and co-director Jocelyne Bloch, a neurosurgeon, he pioneered a spinal treatment called Epidural Electrical Stimulation (EES) that delivers electrical pulses to the spinal cord below the injury site. This stimulation of the nerves and muscles enables movement and mobility.
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But Courtine dreamt of something even more seamless—a device that could directly translate thought into motion for those with spinal cord injuries. Enter the digital bridge: two small implants, one that monitors movement signals from the brain and another that stimulates the spine. Like a radio receiver and transmitter, the implants work together to pick up where the injury disrupted signals, allowing the user to walk, stand and move simply by thinking about it.
In 2022, Courtine and Bloch implanted the first digital bridge in patient Gert-Jan Oskam, injured in a cycling accident over a decade ago. Within minutes of activation, Oskam could control an on-screen avatar with his mind. Within days, he took his first steps in more than ten years. “It was one of those rare moments in science where you witness a breakthrough happening before your eyes,” said Courtine.
