Each year thousands of people suffer severe injuries to the spinal cord, losing the ability to perform an array of important bodily functions.
Thanks to the "smart bladder pacemaker" invented by engineers at Duke, however, individuals with spinal cord injuries will now be able to attain an unprecedented level of autonomy.
Warren Grill, associate professor of biomedical engineering, said that in the future the technology may even allow those paralyzed to walk again or retain use of their hands.
Grill and his team from the Pratt School of Engineering recently demonstrated how the use of electrical impulses from the brain can trigger the continence and emptying of the bladder.
The research was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Paralyzed Veterans of America Spinal Cord Research Foundation.
"Most importantly, this shows that we can use the 'smarts' of the nervous system to help direct very complex body functions," Grill said.
Electrical stimulation is currently used to restore a range of functions, including the regulation of breathing among patients and simple body movements.
The pacemaker utilizes such electrical impulses to empty as well as retain fluids in the bladder, Grill said, noting that the pacemaker is the first device to ever prompt relaxation of the bladder.
In the past, bladder function was controlled using a combination of drugs and catheters. Patients could also undergo risky and invasive procedures that operated directly on the spine, he said.
Unlike these past treatments, the pacemaker offers a relatively hassle-free solution, Grill added.
For some time, the ability to regain limited hand movement was often the end of recovery for patients with severe spinal cord injuries and was considered a major breakthrough.
New electrical stimulating devices such as the pacemaker, however, may take recovery to a new level, Grill said.
He added that such devices can be used long after patients regain certain major bodily functions but still need to rely on the device for others.
"Even with the eventual advent of spinal regeneration, this is unlikely to completely cure the consequences of spinal cord injury," Grill said.
By combining technologies such as the innovative pacemaker with electrical regeneration-a process by which damaged nerve connections are restored-patients with spinal cord injuries can recover the life they used to have, he said.
Researchers are also exploring the use of electrical stimulation to treat movement disorders, including tremors and Parkinson's disease.
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