Helping a paralyzed man walk sounds like a miracle – but it may soon be a reality.
Over the past few years, Northwell Health, New York’s largest hospital system, has been developing bioelectric technology that allows paralyzed patients to move.
Bioelectric technology uses the body’s own electrical signals so it can properly communicate with the nervous system. A paralyzed patient connected to a bioelectric device can feel and even move.
The hospital has already seen incredible applications.
“We had a patient named Kevin … who was completely paralyzed from the neck down after diving into a swimming pool,” said Northwell CEO Michael Dowling. “Because of the technology we developed at Northwell, for the first time in history, that patient can move his arms… When you touch his arms, he feels a touch, which opens up the possibility That, in years to come, people who are paralyzed will walk again.”
The ultimate goal is for the device to be portable and simple enough to use that patients can take it anywhere rather than just using it in a hospital laboratory.
Northwell is one of many New York health care systems that makes science fiction reality.
Earlier this year, NYU Langone became one of the first hospitals in the world to transplant an animal organ into a human and the first to complete a double transplant, giving a patient a human-made heart pump and a pig kidney. Gave both.
The kidney was genetically modified to resemble a human kidney.
Langone patient Lisa Pisano, 54, was not a good candidate for a human-organ transplant because she suffered from multiple chronic conditions. Doctors believe the double transplant extended his life.
Meanwhile, several New York-based startups are focusing on improving the software and technology that doctors rely on to heal patients.
Midtown-based Tempus is compiling the world’s largest database of clinical and molecular data from patients with the disease. This is analyzing each patient’s diseased cells to help doctors determine which treatments and drugs may be most effective in dealing with conditions such as cancer and cardiomyopathy.
Flatiron Health is focused on creating software that connects cancer research institutions around the world so they can better communicate in hopes of giving patients the latest care and keeping doctors aware of breakthrough treatments used by their colleagues.
Comodu Health in Flatiron helps patients find the best providers and treatment options in their area by offering a map with detailed information about providers and the treatments they offer.
These efforts are being boosted by public investment.
Earlier this week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced That the state is investing $150 million in a cell and gene therapy research center in Long Island – the most of any state.
It is the latest step in the construction of a $430 million “innovation hub” that will focus on editing genes, or correcting mutations – a science that promises to someday cure cancer, cystic fibrosis and heart disease. Is.
“We are pioneers in gene and cell therapy, a game-changing new form of medical treatment that repairs damaged cells and kills cells that have turned into tumors,” Hochul said last Tuesday.
And Dowling – who said he would not survive without today’s medical technology – believes innovation has made this the world’s best time to be alive.
“I’ve got a heart problem. I have three stents. If I had the problems I had in the 1970s, I wouldn’t be here now because I had massive blockages,” he explained. “When I was taken to the hospital [ten years ago] Within ten minutes, they identified a problem and 40 minutes later I had three stents in and was out.
“We are very, very, very lucky to live now because what we can do is so much more than we could 50 years ago.”
this is part of the story NYNext, a new editorial series Which highlights innovations as well as leading figures in various industries in New York City.
