25 Feb 2025

Ten people with chronic spinal cord injury show gains in strength and balance over one year

Neurotechnology and human augmentationMedical technology and bioelectronics
AI illustration · Illustrative scene, not a photograph of the specific device or experiment.

What was demonstrated

The operator's announcement reports that, in a one-year study of 10 adults with chronic cervical or thoracic spinal cord injury, 120 treatment sessions of transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (ONWARD's ARC-EX Therapy), combined with activity-based rehabilitation, were followed by gains in upper body strength, trunk control and balance. The announcement says there was no indication of a plateau in benefit after one year. It reports that three participants improved their AIS classification, and four showed a change in neurological level of injury, including one who moved from complete to incomplete injury. The announcement gives no numerical strength, balance or function scores and no adverse event data.

Why it matters

The study suggests that non-invasive spinal stimulation alongside rehabilitation may keep producing measurable gains beyond the first few months of treatment. Because the study is small and its design is not described as controlled, it cannot show how much of the change is due to the stimulation rather than the rehabilitation alone.

Caveats

  • The study had 10 participants, and the announcement does not describe a control group, so the gains cannot be separated from the effects of activity-based rehabilitation.
  • The result comes from an operator announcement that cites a paper in Neuromodulation: Technology at Neural Interface. The paper itself was not located or checked, so its exact title, DOI and outcome data are not confirmed here.
  • The announcement was issued by ONWARD Medical, the developer of the ARC-EX system, so the framing is promotional and should be read with that in mind. It says the therapy 'can be safely and effectively delivered' but gives no adverse event data to support this.
  • Outcomes are reported as counts and descriptions. The announcement gives no numerical scores for strength, balance or function, and no adverse event data.

Technology profiles

Sources

  1. company announcement
    ONWARD Medical Announces Publication of One-Year Study Showing Benefit of Sustained Access to ARC-EX Therapy
    ONWARD Medical N.V. (via Euronext Live), 25 Feb 2025.

Last reviewed 21 Oct 2026.