Trial reportNature medicine2022
Activity-dependent spinal cord neuromodulation rapidly restores trunk and leg motor functions after complete paralysis.
10 registry-linked trialsOpen access · greenAbstract readClinical Trial
In one paragraph
Trial report in Nature medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 10 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 237 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
237citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
57.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Efficacy of Spinal Epidural Electrical Stimulation (EES) in Combination With Robot-assisted Neurorehabilitation in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury (STIMO)
Brain Controlled Spinal Cord Stimulation in Participants With Cervical Spinal Cord Injury for Upper Limb Rehabilitation (UP2)
Study on Preliminary Safety and Efficacy of the ARC Therapy Using the ARC-IM Lumbar System to Support Mobility in People With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury
Study on Preliminary Safety and Efficacy of the ARC-IM Therapy to Alleviate Locomotor Deficits in People With Parkinson's Disease
Spinal Cord Stimulation Surgery for Improving Lower Limb Motor Dysfunction in Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN): A Prospective, Multicenter, Single-Arm, Self-Controlled Study.
Study on Preliminary Safety and Efficacy of Epidural Electrical Stimulation to Manage Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction After Spinal Cord Injury
Spatiotemporal Spinal Cord Stimulation Based on Implantable Brain-machine Interfaces and Exoskeletons for Spinal Cord Injury (BASEGO)
ARC-IM Therapy To Support and Promote Recovery of Ambulatory Functions in People With Subacute and Chronic Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal Cord Stimulation for Poststroke Spasticity: a Multicentre, Double-blind, Randomised, Sham-controlled Trial (SCS-PSS)
VALSE: Integration of Neuromodulation and Exoskeleton Systems for Mobility in Individuals With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury
Who cites it
237 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 414 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical applications of invasive spinal cord stimulation in neurological disorders: a narrative review.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Pooled it
- The effect of device-based neuromodulation on the motor recovery of patients with spinal cord injury.Spinal cord · 2025Pooled it
- A Pragmatic Review on Spinal Cord Stimulation Therapy for Parkinson's Disease Gait Related Disorders: Gaps and Controversies.Movement disorders clinical practice · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic review of computational models for the design of spinal cord stimulation therapies: from neural circuits to patient-specific simulations.The Journal of physiology · 2023Pooled it
- Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Spinal Cord Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Pain and Motor Outcomes.Stereotactic and functional neurosurgery · 2023Pooled it
- First-in-human study of epidural spinal cord stimulation in individuals with spinal muscular atrophy.Nature medicine · 2025Trial
- Non-invasive spinal cord electrical stimulation for arm and hand function in chronic tetraplegia: a safety and efficacy trial.Nature medicine · 2024Trial
- Multisite Hebbian Plasticity Restores Function in Humans with Spinal Cord Injury.Annals of neurology · 2023Trial
- A case study of percutaneous epidural stimulation to enable motor control in two men after spinal cord injury.Nature communications · 2023Trial
- In conversation with Grégoire Courtine.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
- Epidural Electrical Stimulation Within an Integrated Rehabilitation Pathway for Traumatic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Safety and 12-Month Functional Outcomes.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Accelerating the development of bioelectronic medicine: outcomes and innovations from the NIH SPARC initiative.Bioelectronic medicine · 2026Review
- Biomechanical energy harvesting to improve post-stroke mobility.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Roles of spinal V3 interneurons: Roles in controlling movement in healthy and injured conditions.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Repairing spinal cord injuries: The most promising polymeric biomaterials and local drug delivery.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Intramedullary injection of polymerized laminin in acute traumatic spinal cord injury: a first-in-human pilot study.Spinal cord · 2026Article
- Chronic activation of corticospinal tract neurons after pyramidotomy injury enhances neither behavioral recovery nor axonal sprouting.Experimental neurology · 2026Article
- From Trial to Chronic Epidural Electrical Stimulation: A Single-Patient Feasibility Study in Motor-Complete Spinal Cord Injury.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Beyond Scar Removal: Reprogramming the Glial Scar for Neural Repair.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
177 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
69 authors at 15 institutions in 8 countries.
Andreas Rowald *Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Salif Komi *Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Robin Demesmaeker *Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0856-0929
Edeny BaakliniCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0942-0768
Sergio Daniel Hernandez-CharpakCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0477-8138
Edoardo PaolesONWARD Medical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Hazael MontanaroFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5373-1646
Antonino CassaraFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society, Zurich, Switzerland.
Fabio BecceDepartment of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, CHUV/UNIL, Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8444-8504
Bryn LloydFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society, Zurich, Switzerland.
Taylor NewtonFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society, Zurich, Switzerland.
Jimmy RavierCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Nawal KinanyCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Marina D'ErcoleONWARD Medical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Aurélie PaleyDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Nicolas HankovCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Camille VaresconCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Laura McCrackenCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Molywan VatDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Miroslav CabanONWARD Medical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Anne WatrinONWARD Medical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Charlotte JacquetONWARD Medical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Léa Bole-FeysotCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Cathal HarteCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Henri LorachCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Andrea GalvezCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Manon TschoppDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Natacha HerrmannDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Moïra WackerDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Lionel GeernaertDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Isabelle FodorDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Valentin RadevichDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Katrien Van Den KeybusDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Grégoire EberleDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Etienne PralongDepartment of Neurosurgery, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Maxime RouletDefitech Center for Interventional Neurotherapies (NeuroRestore), EPFL/CHUV/UNIL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Jean-Baptiste LedouxDepartment of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, CHUV/UNIL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Eleonora FornariDepartment of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, CHUV/UNIL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Stefano MandijaUniversity Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4612-5509
Loan MatteraFondation Campus Biotech Genève, Geneva, Switzerland.
Roberto MartuzziFondation Campus Biotech Genève, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3811-0961
Bruno NazarianInstitut des Neurosciences de la Timone, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France.
Stefan BenklerFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society, Zurich, Switzerland.
Simone CallegariZurichMedTech, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7598-1809
Nathan GreinerCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Benjamin FuhrerCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7626-3876
Martijn FroelingUniversity Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3841-0497
Nik BuseMedtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Tim DenisonMedtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Rik BuschmanMedtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Christian WendeMedical Materials and Implants, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Damien GantyONWARD Medical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Jurriaan BakkerONWARD Medical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Vincent DelattreONWARD Medical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Hendrik LambertONWARD Medical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Karen MinassianCenter for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4197-6141
Cornelis A T van den BergUniversity Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Anne KavounoudiasLaboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2712-8739
Silvestro MiceraThe BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4396-8217
Dimitri Van De VilleInstitute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2879-3861
Quentin BarraudCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0894-1959
Erkan KurtDepartment of Neurosurgery, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
Niels KusterFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society, Zurich, Switzerland.
Esra NeufeldFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5528-6147
Marco CapogrossoCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Leonie AsbothCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2414-9574
Fabien B WagnerCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9582-6109
Jocelyne BlochCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland. jocelyne.bloch@chuv.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6405-1590
Grégoire CourtineCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland. gregoire.courtine@epfl.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5744-4142
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne · CHUniversity of Lausanne · CHFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society · CHUniversity Hospital of Lausanne · CHCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FRUniversity Medical Center Utrecht · NLHôpital Orthopédique de la Suisse Romande · CHMedtronic (United States) · USScuola Superiore Sant'Anna · ITMedical University of Vienna · ATRadboud University Nijmegen · NLTechnical University of Munich · DEUniversity of Fribourg · CHUniversity of Geneva · CHUniversity of Oxford · GB
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Epidural electrical stimulation (EES) targeting the dorsal roots of lumbosacral segments restores walking in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, EES is delivered with multielectrode paddle leads that were originally designed to target the dorsal column of the spinal cord. Here, we hypothesized that an arrangement of electrodes targeting the ensemble of dorsal roots involved in leg and trunk movements would result in superior efficacy, restoring more diverse motor activities after the most severe SCI. To test this hypothesis, we established a computational framework that informed the optimal arrangement of electrodes on a new paddle lead and guided its neurosurgical positioning. We also developed software supporting the rapid configuration of activity-specific stimulation programs that reproduced the natural activation of motor neurons underlying each activity. We tested these neurotechnologies in three individuals with complete sensorimotor paralysis as part of an ongoing clinical trial ( www.clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02936453). Within a single day, activity-specific stimulation programs enabled these three individuals to stand, walk, cycle, swim and control trunk movements. Neurorehabilitation mediated sufficient improvement to restore these activities in community settings, opening a realistic path to support everyday mobility with EES in people with SCI.
Indexed as
Spinal Cord InjuriesSpinal Cord StimulationHumansLegParalysisSpinal CordWalking
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390
Registered trials
NCT02936453ClinicalTrials.gov
NCT05665998ClinicalTrials.gov
NCT05942339ClinicalTrials.gov
NCT06295614ClinicalTrials.gov
NCT06796920ClinicalTrials.gov
NCT06845904ClinicalTrials.gov
and 4 more above
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.