Published on: 2026-09-02
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Hangzhou, September 2 /Xinhua/ — Recently, 12-year-old Vera /pseudonym/, a Russian girl who had been paralyzed in her lower limbs for over a year, took her first independent step with the aid of assistive devices in the rehabilitation department of the Second Academic Clinic of the Medical School of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, the administrative center of Zhejiang Province /Eastern China/.
This is the first case where a self-developed closed-loop spinal cord neurointerface implantation technology in China helped a patient from abroad with a severe spinal cord injury to walk independently using assistive devices.
In June 2025, as a result of a traffic accident, Vera suffered a severe spinal cord injury – motor functions of the lower limbs and a significant portion of sensory functions of the torso were lost. From an active child, the girl became completely confined to a wheelchair. Treatment in several Russian clinics yielded no results.
With the assistance of the Russian Embassy in China, Vera’s family contacted specialists at the Second Academic Clinic of the Zhejiang University School of Medicine. After a remote assessment of her condition, the interdisciplinary team of doctors invited the girl to China for treatment.
In April 2026, Vera, together with her parents, arrived in Hangzhou, where Professor Zhu Junmin’s team from the Second Academic Clinic of the Medical School of Zhejiang University performed a minimally invasive implantation on her. During the operation, through a small incision in the thoracolumbar spine, a multi-contact stimulating electrode and an implantable synchronous pulse generator were placed in the posterior part of the spinal cord (epidural space).
The system developed by Chinese specialists does not replace the brain’s commands but enhances the weak motor signals it sends. Thanks to this, the signals can overcome the damaged section of the spinal cord and reactivate the muscles of the lower limbs.
After the operation, a whole team of hospital specialists took on Vera’s recovery: neurosurgeons, biomedical engineering experts, and rehabilitation specialists. They created a personalized rehabilitation program for the girl. A key element of the program was artificial intelligence algorithms: they adjusted the parameters of electrical stimulation in real time, gradually “synchronizing” it with Vera’s own motor intentions.
After just three months of such systematic work, the girl learned to take steps independently with the support of assistive devices. At the same time, the sensitivity of the soles of her feet began to recover, and the overall progress of the young patient’s rehabilitation exceeded expectations.
Vera became the first foreign patient in China with a severe spinal cord injury to start walking with the help of orthopedic devices after the implantation of this closed-loop spinal cord neural interface. Thanks to this key treatment performed in China, her dream of standing up and walking again is gradually becoming a reality. Subsequently, the girl will return to Russia to continue rehabilitation locally. -0-
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.