Brain Computer Interface (BCI) Enables Thought-Controlled Walking after Spinal Cord Injury
Pioneering study in Nature demonstrates that adding a BCI to ONWARD® ARC Therapy™ can
enable thought-controlled standing, walking, and stair climbing
EINDHOVEN, the Netherlands — May 24, 2023 — ONWARD Medical N.V. (Euronext: ONWD), the medical technology company creating innovative spinal cord stimulation therapies to restore movement, function, and independence in people with spinal cord injury (SCI), today announces a publication in Nature showing that a wireless brain-computer interface (BCI) can use thought to modulate ARC Therapy. Researchers reported that when paired with ARC Therapy, an implanted BCI allowed an individual to gain augmented control over when and how he moved his paralyzed legs.
“This publication shows the remarkable potential of ARC Therapy to be enhanced with the introduction of a BCI, facilitating more natural movement based on the thoughts of a person living with paralysis,” said Dave Marver, CEO of ONWARD. “We have positioned ONWARD as a leader in the BCI field with our unique understanding of spinal cord stimulation for people with SCI.”
“The BCI establishes a continuous link between movement intentions and spinal cord stimulation, allowing for more natural restoration of mobility,” said neuroscientist Grégoire Courtine, professor at EPFL, and co-author of the Nature paper. “I look forward to working with the ONWARD team to advance this important new technology.”
The data published today are part of an ongoing clinical feasibility study investigating the safety and preliminary effectiveness of brain-controlled spinal cord stimulation after SCI. The study is being coordinated by .NeuroRestore co-Directors – Grégoire Courtine and Jocelyne Bloch, a neurosurgeon at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) – as well as Guillaume Charvet, Head of the Medical Device Development Lab at CEA-Leti / Clinatec.
All ONWARD devices and therapies, including but not limited to ARC-IM, ARC-EX, and ARC Therapy, are investigational and not available for commercial use.
About ONWARD Medical
ONWARD is a medical technology company creating therapies to restore movement, function, and independence in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and movement disabilities. Building on more than a decade of science and preclinical research conducted at leading neuroscience laboratories, the Company has received nine Breakthrough Device Designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its ARC Therapy™ platform.
ONWARD® ARC Therapy, which can be delivered by external ARC-EX™ or implantable ARCIM™ systems, is designed to deliver targeted, programmed spinal cord stimulation. Positive results were presented in 2023 from the Company’s pivotal study, called Up-LIFT, evaluating the ability for transcutaneous ARC Therapy to improve upper extremity strength and function. The Company is now preparing regulatory approval submissions for ARC-EX for the US and Europe. In parallel, the Company is conducting studies with its implantable ARC-IM platform, which demonstrated positive interim clinical outcomes for improved blood pressure regulation following SCI in 2022. These studies include combination use of ARC-IM with a brain-computer interface (BCI).
Headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, ONWARD has a Science and Engineering Center in Lausanne, Switzerland and a U.S. office in Boston, Massachusetts. The Company also has an academic partnership with .NeuroRestore, a collaboration between EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, and Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV).
For more information, visit ONWD.com, and connect with us on LinkedIn and YouTube.
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Lara Smith Weber, CFO
Disclaimer
Certain statements, beliefs, and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company’s or, as appropriate, the Company directors’ current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve several risks, uncertainties, and assumptions
that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forwardlooking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition, and technology, can cause actual events, performance, or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions, or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such person’s officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All ONWARD devices and therapies referenced here, including but not limited to ARC-IM, ARC-EX, and ARC Therapy, are investigational and not available for commercial use.