A groundbreaking medical technology in China is offering new hope to people with paralysis.
In Hangzhou, doctors and engineers at Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine have developed a closed-loop spinal cord neural interface that helps reconnect signals between the brain and muscles, allowing patients with spinal cord injuries to stand and walk again.
This episode follows patients and doctors through a pioneering surgery and the long road to recovery — exploring whether technology can help the human body walk again.
#RazorInChina #WalkAgain #Razor #ChinaInnovation #ChinaAgenda2026
In Hangzhou, doctors and engineers at Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine have developed a closed-loop spinal cord neural interface that helps reconnect signals between the brain and muscles, allowing patients with spinal cord injuries to stand and walk again.
This episode follows patients and doctors through a pioneering surgery and the long road to recovery — exploring whether technology can help the human body walk again.
#RazorInChina #WalkAgain #Razor #ChinaInnovation #ChinaAgenda2026
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00:02At this very moment, a sense that it could enable Mr. Phil to walk again is being placed onto his
00:08spine.
00:09Just incredible to watch this happening in real time.
00:37Globally, more than 15 million people are living with spinal cord injuries.
00:45It's one of the most severe conditions affecting the nervous system.
00:54In Hangzhou, China, a team of pioneering doctors and engineers have developed a brand-new neural interface,
01:03helping people with spinal cord injuries to walk again.
01:08How do you feel?
01:09We need to keep the muscle and keep the muscle.
01:26This is one of China's most iconic landmarks.
01:31West Lake is symbolic of the fusion between humans and nature dating back centuries.
01:36And just beyond this shoreline, the city of Hangzhou is shaping the future.
01:41Scientists here merge humans with technology.
01:45This is one of the most important things.
01:50I'm going to jump, just let him jump, okay?
01:53We also hope the legs can jump.
01:54That means I'm going to be able to jump.
01:57Okay, let's start.
01:58Let's start.
01:59Let's start.
02:00Let's start.
02:01Let's start.
02:01In China, neural interface technology is booming.
02:05From deep brain stimulations to brain-computer interfaces,
02:10these emerging technologies are offering new hope to millions.
02:14And in the city of Hangzhou, doctors at the second affiliated hospital
02:19of Zhejiang University School of Medicine are leading a groundbreaking new trial
02:24called Closed Loop Spinal Cord Neural Interface.
02:40This is a 60-year-old man.
02:48This is a 60-year-old man.
03:06So what makes this patient so suitable for this type of procedure?
03:33The surgery is due to happen within 24 hours.
03:37How much do you understand about what's about to happen?
03:51The closed loop system uses electrical currents known as epidural electrical stimulation,
03:58or EES for short, to activate nerves and help restore movement and sensation.
04:05Patients have two devices implanted.
04:08First, a pair of electrodes with eight contact points each,
04:13attached to the outer membrane of the spinal cord, the dura.
04:17These are linked using wires to an impulse generator implanted in the abdomen,
04:23which then sends impulses to the electrode to boost weakened signals from the brain.
04:31The surgery is carried out by surgeons and neurophysiologists.
04:36But as a sign of just how cutting-edge this procedure is,
04:40a team of engineers are also involved.
04:44So we need to move forward.
04:46However, this is the root of ouröttinger system in the earphone,
04:51which is a work to produce a adequacy system,
04:58which is especially important for our healing system.
05:00we have to perform and measure attention from our chest with our chest.
05:06And so it stands in ourrangian air conditioning system.
05:09We will find a better approach to our chest.
05:09This is an important part of our chest.
05:14With Feng Wei cleared for surgery, the operation can now be ahead.
05:22We're just walking through the hospital into the room where our patient is preparing to
05:27have this implant, this device implanted into his body and we are being given the chance
05:33to actually be in that operating theatre as the surgery is happening.
05:39It's quite nerve-wracking actually.
05:41I can imagine not half as nervous as our patient currently is.
05:53Mr Fong.
06:02This is a lambo.
06:04That's where you can see the damage to the nerves.
06:07Yes.
06:07So that's where the device is going to go.
06:10I will put it here.
06:11Hopefully we can activate all the muscles we need.
06:36At this very moment, the team here are operating on Mr Fong, our patient, who this morning was
06:43paralyzed from the waist down and right now is having a piece of technology placed inside
06:48his body that will essentially send the message to walk and stand again.
06:54It's just incredible to watch this happening in real time.
07:16It's just incredible to watch this happening in real time.
07:23It's just incredible to watch this happen.
07:25It's just incredible to watch this happen.
07:26This technology is the result of close collaboration between doctors and biomedical engineers at Zhejiang
07:33University in Hangzhou.
07:35It's part of a project called Walk Again, led by Professor Xu Kedi.
07:40Hello, lovely to meet you.
07:43For normal people, when we want to do some movements, the signal was generated by your brain, right?
07:50And the signals will transport from the brain through the spinal and to the peripheral nerves
07:57and finally reach your muscles.
08:00If the patient has some spinal cord injuries, the transport of the signal will be interrupted or broken.
08:09Inside the bodies of people without disabilities, signals travel from the brain to the muscles through the spinal cord,
08:17much like cars running smoothly along a highway.
08:20When enough signals arrive, the body can move.
08:24After spinal cord injury, this highway is damaged
08:28and only a few signals get through, meaning muscles don't receive enough information to stand or walk again.
08:36Spinal cord stimulation acts like a highway repair,
08:40with electrical stimulation helping more signals pass through the injured area.
08:46So how can we get more cars through the broken highways?
08:52That was the function of the spinal cord stimulation.
08:56That's the original idea of this kind of work.
09:00For example, for the Parkinson's disease, we know that there was technology called deep brain stimulation.
09:05That's actually the same thing with our spinal cord stimulation.
09:09For example, in the brain, they will put some long and tiny electrodes into the brain.
09:16And for the spinal, normally we cannot directly put electrodes into the spine,
09:22but we can put those like this shit onto the surface of your spinal cord.
09:29By directly communicating with the nervous system, the technology represents a new frontier in neural interface.
09:37Alongside deep brain stimulation and the more widely known brain-computer interfaces, or BCI for short.
09:46We also know that our faculty were doing breastfeeding research.
09:52Most breastfeeding systems measured through the spinal cord to ensure that the brain is in thinking about the brain.
10:01We knew it was in thinking about the brain.
10:02We can use it to scan the brain.
10:03We're using the ICU cell cell phone, because we're an accused of what the disease is working with,
10:09where we need to be implants.
10:10We know that we're in thinking about what we're doing.
10:11as our digital energy system is helping to detect the power that is able to move the power
10:17to build the movement
10:20For the electrical stimulation, there were many many parts
10:24you need to consider, for example the amplifier of the currents
10:28so how strong you need to use the electrical stimulation
10:32and also the frequencies and how long you need to
10:35for every pulse you want to put into the bodies
10:38So if you combine all these things,
10:41there are tens or thousands of options.
10:44Algorithm is what's enabling you to be really precise here?
10:47Yes. We also do the testing during the surgery
10:51until we think we have put this electrode into the right place.
10:57WHISTLE BLOWS
11:04A piece of his spinal bone
11:08has been removed to give him better access.
11:11And right now, at this very moment,
11:15a sensor that could enable Mr Fung to hold again
11:18is being placed onto his spine.
11:39WHISTLE BLOWS
11:39So we've just got to the point in the operation
11:44where the medical team are handing over to the engineers
11:47to test if this technology will actually work
11:52and if it's been placed in the perfect place.
11:56WHISTLE BLOWS
11:57So we have 16 sensors on the charger.
12:02We're going to set up every sensor.
12:05We hope that we can get the most of the power of the brain.
12:12During the procedure, the team activates key muscles
12:15needed for walking.
12:17Iliopsoas, a hip flexor,
12:19which lifts the leg forward during the swing motion.
12:23Gluteus medius, an abductor which stabilises the pelvis.
12:28Biceps femoris, part of the hamstrings muscle group,
12:31which helps extend the hip when you push off the ground
12:34and bend the knee.
12:36And tibialis anterior,
12:38which lifts the front of the foot during walking.
12:57It's quite a sight in here right now,
12:59because while you have the medics
13:01who are holding all the surgical tools
13:02you'd expect to see in an operating theatre.
13:06Alongside them, you have the engineers holding an iPad
13:09and looking at the data that they're getting
13:11to better position these sensors.
13:16If the impedance is too high,
13:17that means the electrical cannot go through this point.
13:20So that's what we call the problem,
13:22and we need to adjust it.
13:24Yeah.
13:32We can see his body is reacting now to the electrical signals,
13:37and that's a good sign?
13:38Yeah.
13:38That's a good sign.
13:55So the test continues for now.
13:57How are you?
14:01The 9 and the 16,
14:02the 16尾端 is probably the most important thing.
14:04The 9 is good?
14:05The 9 is good.
14:06The 9 is good?
14:06The 9 is good.
14:33And it seems there's a bit of tension
14:37in the room about where is the best to place it.
14:52Mr. Xu, can I just ask quickly,
14:57what's the latest state? Where are we?
14:59What's happening? I saw that graph.
15:00Oh, we have finished the testing part.
15:02The testing's finished?
15:03Finished.
15:03Great.
15:04We didn't see the activation of this muscle.
15:07Right.
15:08But considering this IL muscle is very important
15:12for standing and walking muscles.
15:14Which is more important.
15:15Yeah, so we need to make a choice.
15:17What does that mean for Mr. Fung when it comes to standing and walking again?
15:21Will he be able to, based on where you've placed it?
15:24Yeah.
15:25He will still be able to stand and walk?
15:27Yeah, yeah.
15:33He will be able to carry it through a while.
15:37And then instill a разрез-in trafficker.
15:44After more than four hours, the operation is complete.
15:49The stimulator is implanted in the abdomen.
15:52The result of a carefully coordinated effort between doctors and engineers.
15:58You've just left the operating theatre. Tell me, how's it gone?
16:01This surgery is very effective. I'm quite happy.
16:06We put this device into the device.
16:12We use a very small measure,
16:15the patient will get a huge impact of the body.
16:19That's why we put the patient in the back of the patient.
16:24There seemed to be a moment in the surgery
16:27when there was some uncertainty about where to place the device.
16:30What was happening there?
16:32We were able to control our body's body's body's body's body.
16:40But the body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body.
16:47So we were talking about how to put the body's body higher or lower.
16:53If it was higher, the body's body would be more easily.
16:57If it was too low, it would affect the body's body's body's body.
17:02It would affect the body's body's body's body's body.
17:06So we decided to put the body's body higher.
17:12After surgery, doctors designed a personalised rehabilitation programme.
17:16It's hoped Feng Wei will be able to walk independently within six to twelve months.
17:22But right now, the procedure is already changing lives.
17:28Jung Kuxin was just finishing her undergraduate studies,
17:31with dreams of becoming a teacher,
17:33when a devastating accident saw her fall from an eight-storey building.
17:38She's agreed to speak to us, but asked that her face is not shown on camera.
17:47She's agreed to speak to us, but asked that her face is not shown on camera.
17:57Now he can stand up himself and stand up for 30 minutes.
18:04He's now ready to practice the next step.
18:12I've been working for 3 months now.
18:16I can feel that I can make a difference in a few months.
18:19I can feel that I can make a difference in a few months.
18:22And now the progress is pretty big.
18:25It will give you a charger and a computer.
18:30It will allow you to control yourself.
18:31It will allow you to do some work.
18:39And this is what makes this type of neural interface unique.
18:43During rehabilitation, data collected from wearable sensors on the legs,
18:48is sent to an app.
18:50Using an algorithm, the app fine-tunes both the type and intensity
18:55of stimulation coming from the impulse generator.
18:58This closed-loop system adjusts in real time,
19:02allowing patients to move only when they want to
19:05and to switch between different stimulation modes to suit their needs.
19:13So this is a spinal cord.
19:15And here, this is a dura.
19:19And where we put our electrode is, so one is here.
19:24This is the contact, the mental contact.
19:28And another one is here.
19:31So this is the contact.
19:35So the distance between here and here sometimes will change.
19:41That depends on your body position.
19:44So that means when you are sitting down, when you lay down,
19:47or when you stand up, the distance will change.
19:50And the electrode we put out from the contact is normally,
19:55we can see that like a severe area.
19:58So this is the electrode.
20:00So if the distance is changed, influence of the electrode will be changed.
20:06So you need to change the parameters of your electrode stimulation.
20:11Which is why the patients need an app to be able to change?
20:14Yes, yes.
20:16The system uses two different apps.
20:19One is a clinical version for doctors and engineers,
20:23which gives full control of the device,
20:25including stimulation settings and battery charging.
20:28The other allows patients to make small, safe adjustments by themselves
20:33to change the strength of the stimulation.
20:37One is a lot of different options.
20:40The same is a great tool for the patient.
20:41And the other is the same.
20:44The other is the same.
20:44And the other is the same.
20:47So there is also a lot of movement.
20:49And the other is the same.
20:49So you can do it.
20:52And then you can do it.
20:54And then you can do it.
21:03Hey, my name is Jihang.
21:04Hi.
21:07Let's take a look at yourself.
21:10It's okay.
21:12It's a bit better.
21:15It's a pain problem.
21:18Let's take a seat.
21:20Let's take a seat.
21:24How long do you go?
21:28Two times.
21:29How long do you go?
21:32About 500 meters.
21:36In 2024, construction worker Jin Yin Biao suffered a thoracic spine injury after falling from the third floor of a
21:46building he was working on.
21:47The accident left him paralysed below the waist.
21:51But after being offered spinal cord neural interface technology, everything changed.
21:58Our first patient called him to be called Jin Da Su.
22:03He told us about the surgery.
22:08He was very happy to be our support.
22:13In addition to some health care治療, in two months, he began to do surgery.
22:44His recovery has been helped by the fact that his injury was less severe than in the other cases we've
22:50seen.
22:50And the surgery was performed within eight months of his accident.
22:55Before muscle atrophy, the wasting or thinning of muscle mass had become severe.
23:08He said,
23:11He felt very bad.
23:16He was very sick.
23:24The other patient that had seen him do the surgery.
23:25He liked the surgery as he Drew Friedrich Kנו on.
23:28So, what happened to the surgery?
23:30It will eat you a little bit.
23:37That's good.
23:40Now, what are the other issues?
23:42What changes are there?
23:45I feel it's better than before.
23:49What is it?
23:50Two feet are very good.
23:52Two feet are very good.
23:53They're very good.
23:55Oh.
23:55Yes.
23:56So, you can wash your clothes and wear clothes.
24:02I can do it myself.
24:04Yes, I can do it.
24:06You can do it now.
24:07You can go out there and don't have friends with you.
24:10That's right.
24:12I don't have friends with you.
24:13You don't have friends with you.
24:14When our team is successful,
24:18our team is very happy.
24:22But there are a lot of different types of people.
24:38So far, only 10 people from around the world have had the surgery.
24:44Clinical feedback and rehabilitation data are now helping the team refine the technology,
24:50one patient at a time.
24:52For Jing, we have only put on one two plus eight electrode.
24:58But if you only use this single one, you cannot separate the different part of the left and the right
25:04different parts.
25:06So for Ms. Jiang, we have optimization.
25:08So we have put this two one plus eight electrodes.
25:16In Jung Kishin's case, doctors learned the optimal stimulation point on her left side was slightly higher than on the
25:24right.
25:25So they installed two separate electrodes, allowing finer independent control of each side of the spinal cord.
25:32An innovation that has since been applied to all patients.
25:36And with each surgery, the technology continues to improve.
25:57Each year, roughly half a million people around the world suffer a spinal cord injury.
26:02Poor access to healthcare, social stigma and barriers to education or employment can make life even harder.
26:11Families also face enormous financial burdens, with lost income and the spiralling cost of long term care.
26:19So could technological advances here in Hangzhou offer real hope for change?
26:41Just a month after surgery, Feng Wei is learning to stand and walk again.
26:47Enjoy the needs.
26:49Okay, let me help.
26:51The most important thing to do is to take a lot of the muscles.
26:58Other muscles can be done.
27:00We need to do every movement.
27:04It's like the body of the body.
27:06One, two, three.
27:07Yes, keep it.
27:09Keep it up.
27:10We have to stay in the morning.
27:13We can stay in the morning.
27:14We can stay in the morning.
27:21One, two, three, three.
27:24My hope will be bigger.
27:26I'm happy.
27:27Every day I see my hope.
27:29My hope will be better.
27:31My hope will be bigger.
27:32My hope will be bigger.
27:34I can see my aunt.
27:36She's here.
27:37Every day I'm happy.
27:54Now back home, it's not just movement the spinal cord neural interface has restored.
28:00It's also hope, dignity, and the promise of a better future.
28:05It's more fun.
28:08It's more fun.
28:08It's more fun.
28:10I can do many things.
28:12I can do many things.
28:12I believe the training will be better.
28:18It's better for me.
28:27It's better for me.
28:57I think for the patients themselves, their hope is they can get the functions from their body.
29:05You talk with them what you want the most.
29:09I think the answer is, I want to re-walk again.
29:12I want to stand up again.
29:15Okay.
29:16Alright!
29:17Yes.
29:21Thank you, child.
29:23Yes.
29:35We'll be private.
29:35I know what you mean, because it is.
29:36It's all right.
29:36You go to the field at home's keep in, my mind!
29:37Your way everyone will.
29:38He goes for the next day.
29:39Hopefully you will doех all the time that you can catch it from anywhere.
29:39I am surprised at home
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