research
Dr Dinesh Palipana with Professor
David Lloyd (left) and Dr Claudio
Pizzolato (right).
“These are then personalised to
the patient, so that they can then
electrically stimulate the muscles to
make the patient and bike move. It’s all
in real time, with the model adjusting
the amount of stimulation required as
the patient starts to recover.
“We’re in the early stages
of research and we’re having to
Thought control
Gold Coast University Hospital junior doctor and Griffith
University medical graduate Dinesh Palipana is taking part
in research which uses a ‘thought control’ approach to spinal
cord injury rehabilitation.
T
however we know we have shown our
real-time personalised model works,
basically like a digital twin of the
patient.”
Dr Palipana is excited to be part
of the research in his own backyard.
“We’ve had equipment for
many years where people passively
he novel research involves car accident part-way through his exercise using stationary bikes, and
Dr Palipana thinking about medical degree. stationary methods where people
pushing the pedals of a
Griffith University Professor David
get on and the equipment moves
specially adapted recline bike, Lloyd, Dr Claudio Pizzolato and his their legs for them. The problem is
and thanks to electronic muscle team, together with Dinesh as both you really need some stimulation
stimulation, he’s actually moving, researcher and research subject, from the brain,” he said.
in what is the first step towards an are aiming to use their ground- integrated neuro-musculoskeletal breaking 3D computer-stimulated to realise that the whole nervous
rehabilitation program being biomechanical model, connected system is very plastic and it has to be
developed at the Gold Coast Health to an electroencephalogram (EEG) trained, so actually thinking about
and Knowledge Precinct. to capture Dinesh’s brainwaves, to moving the bike or doing an activity
stimulate movement, and eventually stimulates the spinal cord from the
recovery. top down and that creates change.”
Dr Palipana – who featured on
the front cover of Link magazine
in December 2017 – is enthusiastic
Professor Lloyd said the idea is that
“As the years go by we’re starting
This top down, bottom up
about being the ‘guinea pig’ for the a spinal injury or neurological patient approach is innovative, with the
research. can think about riding the bike. model effectively providing a
“I have a selfish and vested
62
improvise with our equipment,
“This generates neural patterns,
substitute connection between the
interest in spinal cord injury research and the biomechanical model sits limbs and the brain where it was
and I’m completely happy to be in the middle to generate control of previously broken when the spinal
the guinea pig,” said Dr Palipana, the patient’s personalised muscle cord was injured.
who became a quadriplegic after a activation patterns,” Prof Lloyd said.
research
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