United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi all.i've got some very exciting and positive news for all of us.My mother rang me yesterday to tell me about a doctor/scientist(i'm not sure what he is)but he's designed a new system which will help people with spinal/nerve injuries ( www.antree.com )and hopes to use it within the next 2 years.i've sent an email to the company but i didn't get a response yet.i even tried ringing this morning but there's no answer.i'll let ye know what they say.in the mean time check out the website

interesting stuff Karl, its hard to understand the techie terms but it looks like these people are experimenting with the same kind of stuff as this guy http://www.kevinwarwick.org/ who is a highly contraversial British scientist. He is experimenting with implants in his own body which can be controlled by or control a computer system, which 'reads' the nerve impulses and can play them back, meaning that muscle movements can theoretically be generated by the computer if nerves are damaged or severed. This is all very much pie in the sky at the moment and many other scientists think he's a nutcase, but then they have thought the same thing about things we now all take for granted, so who knows? At least this guy experiments on himself, rather than rats, monkeys or unsuspecting patients!
Let us know if you find out anything more Karl, I do believe the future treatment of peripheral nerve injuries will be non surgical, and I know other UK scientists have already 'wired up' a monkey to a computer to produce movement just by thinking about it, with some success, but I think it may be a long time before simple grafts etc are superceded by other less invasive treatments.

Hi again.i didn't get much positive information back from the Antree Company so i emailed a Dr.Phil Kennedy in Atlanta and following is he's reply

Karl,

The fact that you have only one injuried limb means that the technology would have to be well advanced before it could be available to someone with your injuries. But someday it should be available, perhaps 3 to 5 years.

Keep in touch.

Phil Kennedy