An Implantable Digital Bridge Enables Arm And Hand Movements After Tetraplegia
Overview
and 68 other authors
Remy Tang1,2,3, Hanane Moha Ouchane1,2,3, Olivia Ruggaber1,2,3, Nadine Intering1,2,3, Julie Hervé1,2,3, Céline Deschenaux1,2,3, Camille Haxaire1,2,3, Stéphane Datwyler1,2,3, Mathieu Salzmann4, Leonid Iosipoi4, Oleg Bakhteev4, Guolei Sun5, Tianfei Zhou5, Javier Garcia Ordonez6, Taylor Newton6, Niels Kuster6, Jean-Baptiste Ledoux7,8, Fabio Becce7, Eleonora Fornari8, Caroline Landelle9, Julien Doyon9, Anne Kavounoudias10, Raphaelle Schlienger10, Morgane Burri1,2,3, Frederic Merlos1,2,3, Jeremy Styles1,2,3, Malo Simondin1,2,3, Charles-David Sasportes1,2,3, Cathal Harte1,2,3, Zakarya Souid1,2,3, Robin Demesmaeker1,2,3, Roman Heimgartner1,2,3, Jordan Squair1,2,3, Viviana Aureli1,2,3, Stefano Carda2, Elise Trierweiler2, Anastasia Nikolaeva1,2,3, Léa Bole-Feysot1,2,3, Léonie Asboth1,2,3, Mark Hinkle11, Julien Dedelley11, Yohan Dumeny11, Marina D’Ercole11, Vincent Delattre11, Pierre Bessot11, Charlotte Jacquet11, Anne Watrin11, Félix Martel12, Matthieu Bosquet12, Serpil Karakas12, Violaine Juliard12, Olivier Favre12, Yvan Etaix12, Charles-Elie Goujon12, Elodie Faure12, Mélanie Descharles12, Fabien Sauter-Starace12, Remi Souriau12, Tetiana Aksenova12, Auke Ijspeert13, Ender Konukoglu5, Esra Neufeld6, Dimitri Van De Ville1,8,14, Guillaume Obozinski4, Guillaume Charvet12, Jocelyne Bloch1,2,3, Gregoire Courtine1,2,3, Henri Lorach1,2,314 affiliations
- NeuroX Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- NeuroRestore, EPFL/CHUV/UNIL, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Data Science Center, ETH Zürich & EPFL, Zürich & Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Computer Vision Laboratory, ETH Zürich, Sternwartstrasse 7, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland
- Foundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (IT’IS), Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, Lausanne, Switzerland
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Psychologie et Neurosciences, CRPN UMR 7077, Marseille, France
- ONWARD Medical, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, Leti, Clinatec, F-38000, Grenoble, France
- Biorobotics Laboratory, Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Abstract
A cervical spinal cord injury disrupts the signals between the brain and the region of the spinal cord that coordinates arm and hand movements, causing paralysis. Here, we engineered a chronically implanted and durable Digital Bridge that reestablishes communication between the brain and cervical spinal cord. This technology consists of a brain implant to record electrocorticography from the sensorimotor cortex, and a neurostimulation platform to deliver epidural electrical stimulation over the entire cervical spinal cord unilaterally. We implanted this Digital Bridge in three individuals with chronic incomplete tetraplegia. We configured a library of stimulation patterns that supported gradual control over various elementary movements of the arm and hand. A decoding pipeline incorporating a foundation model of human brain activity predicted up to 8 motor states with high accuracy. In turn, linking decoding predictions to the modulation of stimulation patterns targeting the preprogrammed elementary movements enabled the three participants to perform functional tasks with their otherwise paralyzed arm and hand. The Digital Bridge has remained stable for more than one year, and has been compatible with long-term stability and safety. While additional technological developments and clinical validations in a diverse patient population are required, these results establish essential concepts to enable arm and hand movements in humans living with chronic tetraplegia.
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
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Version 2, 28 September 2026
- Authors: added Niels Kuster (0000-0002-5827-3728); removed Niels Kuster
Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record
Recorded: type, journal, dates, 88 authors, 2 funders, 56 references.
Cite
This paper
Collin, T., Yu, I. B., Sakr, I., Hernandez-Charpak, S., Spagnolo, V., Coquoz, L., Bruel, A., Dumont, G., Carparelli, G., Abranches, P., Ciotti, F., Rouanne, V., Forero, P., Schornstein, B., Picek, M., Dahan, S., Toye, I., Avery, M., Hankov, N., . . . Lorach, H. (2026). An Implantable Digital Bridge Enables Arm And Hand Movements After Tetraplegia. Research Square (preprint). https://
BibTeX
@article{collin2026impla
author = {Collin, Thibault and Yu, Ina Bianca and Sakr, Icare and Hernandez-Charpak, Sergio and Spagnolo, Valeria and Coquoz, Laure and Bruel, Alice and Dumont, Grégory and Carparelli, Gaia and Abranches, Pedro and Ciotti, Federico and Rouanne, Vincent and Forero, Philippe and Schornstein, Benjamin and Picek, Martin and Dahan, Simon and Toye, Iris and Avery, Michael and Hankov, Nicolas and Qin, Yu and Tang, Remy and Ouchane, Hanane Moha and Ruggaber, Olivia and Intering, Nadine and Hervé, Julie and Deschenaux, Céline and Haxaire, Camille and Datwyler, Stéphane and Salzmann, Mathieu and Iosipoi, Leonid and Bakhteev, Oleg and Sun, Guolei and Zhou, Tianfei and Ordonez, Javier Garcia and Newton, Taylor and Kuster, Niels and Ledoux, Jean-Baptiste and Becce, Fabio and Fornari, Eleonora and Landelle, Caroline and Doyon, Julien and Kavounoudias, Anne and Schlienger, Raphaelle and Burri, Morgane and Merlos, Frederic and Styles, Jeremy and Simondin, Malo and Sasportes, Charles-David and Harte, Cathal and Souid, Zakarya and Demesmaeker, Robin and Heimgartner, Roman and Squair, Jordan and Aureli, Viviana and Carda, Stefano and Trierweiler, Elise and Nikolaeva, Anastasia and Bole-Feysot, Léa and Asboth, Léonie and Hinkle, Mark and Dedelley, Julien and Dumeny, Yohan and D’Ercole, Marina and Delattre, Vincent and Bessot, Pierre and Jacquet, Charlotte and Watrin, Anne and Martel, Félix and Bosquet, Matthieu and Karakas, Serpil and Juliard, Violaine and Favre, Olivier and Etaix, Yvan and Goujon, Charles-Elie and Faure, Elodie and Descharles, Mélanie and Sauter-Starace, Fabien and Souriau, Remi and Aksenova, Tetiana and Ijspeert, Auke and Konukoglu, Ender and Neufeld, Esra and Van De Ville, Dimitri and Obozinski, Guillaume and Charvet, Guillaume and Bloch, Jocelyne and Courtine, Gregoire and Lorach, Henri},
title = {{An Implantable Digital Bridge Enables Arm And Hand Movements After Tetraplegia}},
journal = {Research Square (preprint)},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
publisher = {Research Square},
issn = {2693-5015},
doi = {10.21203/
url = {https://
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
AU - Collin, Thibault
AU - Yu, Ina Bianca
AU - Sakr, Icare
AU - Hernandez-Charpak, Sergio
AU - Spagnolo, Valeria
AU - Coquoz, Laure
AU - Bruel, Alice
AU - Dumont, Grégory
AU - Carparelli, Gaia
AU - Abranches, Pedro
AU - Ciotti, Federico
AU - Rouanne, Vincent
AU - Forero, Philippe
AU - Schornstein, Benjamin
AU - Picek, Martin
AU - Dahan, Simon
AU - Toye, Iris
AU - Avery, Michael
AU - Hankov, Nicolas
AU - Qin, Yu
AU - Tang, Remy
AU - Ouchane, Hanane Moha
AU - Ruggaber, Olivia
AU - Intering, Nadine
AU - Hervé, Julie
AU - Deschenaux, Céline
AU - Haxaire, Camille
AU - Datwyler, Stéphane
AU - Salzmann, Mathieu
AU - Iosipoi, Leonid
AU - Bakhteev, Oleg
AU - Sun, Guolei
AU - Zhou, Tianfei
AU - Ordonez, Javier Garcia
AU - Newton, Taylor
AU - Kuster, Niels
AU - Ledoux, Jean-Baptiste
AU - Becce, Fabio
AU - Fornari, Eleonora
AU - Landelle, Caroline
AU - Doyon, Julien
AU - Kavounoudias, Anne
AU - Schlienger, Raphaelle
AU - Burri, Morgane
AU - Merlos, Frederic
AU - Styles, Jeremy
AU - Simondin, Malo
AU - Sasportes, Charles-David
AU - Harte, Cathal
AU - Souid, Zakarya
AU - Demesmaeker, Robin
AU - Heimgartner, Roman
AU - Squair, Jordan
AU - Aureli, Viviana
AU - Carda, Stefano
AU - Trierweiler, Elise
AU - Nikolaeva, Anastasia
AU - Bole-Feysot, Léa
AU - Asboth, Léonie
AU - Hinkle, Mark
AU - Dedelley, Julien
AU - Dumeny, Yohan
AU - D’Ercole, Marina
AU - Delattre, Vincent
AU - Bessot, Pierre
AU - Jacquet, Charlotte
AU - Watrin, Anne
AU - Martel, Félix
AU - Bosquet, Matthieu
AU - Karakas, Serpil
AU - Juliard, Violaine
AU - Favre, Olivier
AU - Etaix, Yvan
AU - Goujon, Charles-Elie
AU - Faure, Elodie
AU - Descharles, Mélanie
AU - Sauter-Starace, Fabien
AU - Souriau, Remi
AU - Aksenova, Tetiana
AU - Ijspeert, Auke
AU - Konukoglu, Ender
AU - Neufeld, Esra
AU - Van De Ville, Dimitri
AU - Obozinski, Guillaume
AU - Charvet, Guillaume
AU - Bloch, Jocelyne
AU - Courtine, Gregoire
AU - Lorach, Henri
TI - An Implantable Digital Bridge Enables Arm And Hand Movements After Tetraplegia
T2 - Research Square (preprint)
J2 - Res Sq
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/
SN - 2693-5015
PB - Research Square
DO - 10.21203/
UR - https://
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