After a spinal injury that left him paralyzed, Mike McClellan is competing in the October 2016 Cybathlon as a new athlete-one whose movements are powered by prosthetic electrodes. With Functional Electrical Stimulation therapy, Michael McClellan is back in the saddle as a competitive athlete after a spinal injury left him paralyzed
Image Credit: 
Advanced Platform Technology Center
In 2009, McClellan broke his T11 vertebra during a bike race, damaging spinal nerves and leaving his legs paralyzed. He was told by doctors he would never use his legs again.
Then, in 2011, a friend told him about a research trial involving functional electrical stimulation. Based out of the Advanced Platform Technology Center in Cleveland, Ohio, the study needed recruits to test its prosthetic electrodes to assist with muscle movement. With nothing to lose, McClellan immediately signed up. After an 11 hour procedure in which doctors implanted electrodes directly into the muscles of his paralyzed legs and hips, McClellan spent months in physical therapy, learning how to artificially stimulate his muscles.
Now, years later, he is poised to compete in the international Cybathlon competition this October, designed to showcase different movement technologies and drive innovation.
How was his movement restored? The technology was pioneered by Ronald Triolo, biomedical engineer and researcher, whose team designed a system to provide electrical stimulation to muscular nerves. Muscles with damaged nerves were re-innervated with electrodes attached to a pulse generator embedded in the abdomen.
The pulse generator is programmed to deliver various kinds of stimulation according to code written by Triolo’s team. The signals are sent to the generator using a wireless link. Because the software is remote and can be updated independently of the prosthetic, it doesn’t need to be changed. The team has spent years fine-tuning the electrical signalling system to deliver pulses in such a way as to allow ever more precise movements. When Mike wants to stand up, he presses a button that sends electrical pulses to the muscles in his legs that control standing. When he wants to ride a bike, he presses the buttons that send signals to the muscles that control pedalling. So competing in the cybathlon, for Mike McClellan, is more than just pure athletic movement-it’s also kind of like playing a video game, pressing buttons in the right sequence to optimize his moving through a course.
He’ll be competing with other athletes with similar devices, and it’s hoped that the competition will both draw attention to the potential of advanced prosthetics and drive advanced development. McClellan may well take home a gold medal-compared with other contestants, his prosthetic devices are minimal in size, embedded in his muscles.
He was told he’d never walk after his accident. Seven years later, he’s an international athlete, once again. Read more about his efforts after this link.
Have a story tip? Message me at: