“FES has been extraordinarily successful so far,” said Dr. Popovic. “Up until now, if you had a stroke or spinal cord injury and you went through physio or occupational therapy, you'd see a little bit of improvement, but you'd still be unable to perform many tasks of day-to-day living. What we're able to do with FES is take patients who are completely disabled and restore their reaching and grasping functions better than anything else out there.”
According to Dr. Popovic, FES is a very complicated process that works by programming electronics to mimic the different biological systems. Once the system has been calibrated, FES can be used to retrain the patient's brain, often to the point where FES itself is no longer needed. By asking patients to envision themselves performing specific tasks – reaching for a cup, for example – and then stimulating the nervous system with a pulse of electricity, dramatic improvements to the control and operation of their voluntary functions are visible after just 40 one-hour sessions.
“All the stroke and spinal cord patients we work with show signs of improvement,” continued Dr. Popovic. “Some patients show more improvement than others, but all show improvement.”
While FES shows immense promise, Dr. Popovic is keen to make sure that it isn't understood as a cure. “There are multiple issues to consider when dealing with spinal cord injuries,” he said. “But as regards stroke and spinal cord patients, we can really help a large number of them improve their voluntary functions: eating, drinking, brushing their teeth, and so on. Some people may still need help getting in and out of wheelchairs and bathing and things like that, but they'll be much more independent than before.”
“What we anticipate is improving their function significantly so that they need less assistance and can perform simple tasks on their own,” Dr. Popovic concluded. For sufferers of spinal cord injury who have spent many years of their lives relying on caregivers to perform even the most basic of actions, a measure of independence means the world to them.
