Neural Noise

Miami Project neuromodulation for spinal cord injury

2 min read

  • The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis is advancing neuromodulation approaches for spinal cord injury.1
  • Clinical translation of neuromodulation for SCI is a key BCI/neuroprosthetics pipeline milestone.1 1

Weekly enrichment (2026-07-20)

  • The University of Miami / Miami Project to Cure Paralysis is running a brain-controlled walking-therapy trial (NCT06406855) pairing a BCI with transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (BCI-TSCS), estimated enrollment 12, in which TSCS is triggered when the BCI detects a movement attempt, delivered 3–4 times per week; the trial is DoD-funded.2
  • Eligibility for that trial requires traumatic incomplete SCI at or above T10, AIS grade B–D, more than 6 months post-injury, with detectable motor function or tibialis-anterior motor evoked potentials at baseline.2
  • A separate Miami Project study, “Assessment of Neural Signals for the Control of Assistive Devices” (NCT06533969), decodes upper-limb motor intention from EEG or implanted electrocorticography (ECoG) to trigger epidural spinal cord stimulation (ESCS) during therapist-guided grasp/reach practice.3
  • A novel repetitive synchronized associative stimulation approach (NCT06494059, enrollment 25) combines magnetic brain stimulation, transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation, and muscle stimulation, testing current strengths adjustable between 0–250 mA across trunk, upper-limb, and lower-limb targets.4
  • A cuneiform-nucleus deep brain stimulation trial for gait (NCT07109804) implants bilateral directional DBS leads (Cartesia) with a Vercise pulse generator, delivering continuous stimulation anticipated at 20–50 Hz to a brainstem locomotor region.5
  • A single-case pilot of BCI-ESCS for upper-limb motor function after chronic tetraplegia (IRB 20190536, registered under NCT06533969) reports feasibility of decoding motor intent to gate spinal stimulation over a multi-week protocol.6
  • Across these efforts the common design is closed-loop, brain-controlled neuromodulation—EEG/ECoG intent decoding gating spinal or deep-brain stimulation—spanning upper-limb, lower-limb walking, and trunk targets, with multiple studies recruiting through 2026–2027.235
  • For the BCI/neuroprosthetics pipeline, these trials illustrate a shift from open-loop spinal stimulation toward volitional, intent-triggered stimulation intended to reinforce activity-dependent recovery rather than merely assist movement.26

Footnotes

  1. https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiXEFVX3lxTFBLaHBjMzNXZk4zREtXQk1VNk44NEg0cHk5UWk3d09Sa1pfYmlPcE1vSS0xZGsyR1UyeDY0amtRVThYb05CZElpTVcteF92SGFER1V5YUo4ZHVhdk92?oc=5 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06406855 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  3. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06533969 ↩ ↩2

  4. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06494059 ↩

  5. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07109804 ↩ ↩2

  6. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.02.25330433 ↩ ↩2

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