To grasp the world again
![Symbolic picture for the article. The link opens the image in a large view.](/files/2025/01/PlayAgain-Neuroorthosis-scaled-1-480x320.jpg)
European Research Council funds pioneering FAU project in the field of neuromechatronics
Children who cannot move their hands, for example after suffering a stroke at a young age: Scientists from the Neuromuscular Physiology and Neural Interfacing Laboratory (N-squared Lab) at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) hope that impairments such as these will soon belong to the past. Following the remit of the “PlayAgain” project, the working group led by Prof. Dr. Alessandro Del Vecchio hope to develop a neural interface that can strengthen or re-establish connections between the brain and the lower arm muscles from the paralyzed hand. The FAU team has now received 150,000 euros in funding from the European Research Council (ERC).
The funding is an important step towards the team led by neuroscientist Prof. Dr. Alessandro Del Vecchio being able to help children (and adults) to move a disabled hand again and even to be able to grasp objects with it. It follows on from the basic research conducted at FAU by the N-squared Lab at the Department of Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Engineering in the area of neuromuscular physiology that has already been recognized by the ERC. The working group focuses on the question of how the brain controls muscles, and investigates sensorimotor interfaces for paralyzed people.
![Paralyzed child’s arm with a sensor armband.](https://www.fau.de/files/2025/01/PlayAgain-Sensorik-683x1024.jpg)
“The latest funding is aimed at checking whether we can transfer our basic research to possible applications with children,” explains Prof. Dr. Alessandro Del Vecchio, head of the N-squared Lab and principal investigator in the “PlayAgain” project. “We hope to develop a neuromotor interface that will help children with neuromotor disabilities in their hands to increase activation of the lower arm muscles of the affected arm. We hope that this will enable people to intuitively control a neuro-orthosis and actively grasp objects.
If the project delivers promising results after the initial 18 month project duration, that is expected to begin in summer, the researchers hope to receive further funding running into the millions. For Prof. Dr. Alessandro the project means so much more than it’s potential funding. As he explains,: “There is nothing better than seeing that your research has a direct impact on people and their quality of life. It is particularly moving when the people we are helping are children who still have their whole lives ahead of them.”
Awareness through recognition of research
The idea of adjusting the concept to suit children arose from the considerable media attention the research group enjoyed after winning the Medical Valley Award 2023. Together with the Chair of Factory Automation and Production Systems (FAPS) at FAU, and based on their research findings so far, the N-Squared Lab is working at developing a neuro-orthosis aimed at reinstating the hand function of people with neuromuscular disorders.
The award granted by the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy did not only bring the project to the attention of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, but also to the parents of a paralyzed child. Due to a severe case of epilepsy, the nerve pathways in the affected half of their child’s brain had to be disconnected (hemispherectomy), leading to paralysis on one side of the body.
“When the couple approached us and asked if we could adjust our concept for a neuromotor interface for children too, we didn’t have to think long about it,” reports Dominik Braun, a research associate at N-squared Lab who provided the initial research findings that led to the group being awarded the funding. The advantages are obvious for him: “Neuroplasticity is much greater in children than in adults. This massively increases the chances that they will be able to move their hands again by using a neuroorthosis.”
At the end of the day, the researchers are driven by the hope that children will be able to play again with the hand that is actually paralyzed, and then later they will be able to hold a pen at school and complete everyday tasks. In a nutshell: they will enjoy a new quality of life. These developments are based on the research conducted by Prof. Dr. Alessandro Del Vecchio, who focuses on the question of how the central nervous system works together with our muscles in order to allow human movement.
![FAU Professor Allessandro del Vecchio demonstrates how exactly the orthoses work.](https://www.fau.de/files/2025/01/N4A9740-Kopie-683x1024.jpg)
Achieving the extraordinary in medicine with the help of AI
The principle: Sensors attached to the arm measure the residual signals between the brain and the muscles. A brain-computer interface supported by AI decodes the received signals to determine the person’s intended movement. These are then forwarded to an exoskeleton in the shape of a glove. Allowing children to grasp the world again is is a major incentive for the scientists and at the same time proof once again of what FAU can achieve with its expertise as a location for innovation in artificial intelligence in medicine.
Further information:
Project management
Prof. Dr. Alessandro Del Vecchio
Professor of Neuromuscular Physiology and Neural Interfacing
Neuromuscular Physiology and Neural Interfacing Laboratory (N-squared Lab)
Fax: +49 9131 85 70940
alessandro.del.vecchio@fau.de
Dominik Braun
Neuromuscular Physiology and Neural Interfacing Laboratory (N-squared Lab)
Phone: +49 9131 85 71375
dome.braun@fau.de