World Cup Opening Ceremony Will Show a Paraplegic Teen Kicking a Ball
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| World Cup Opening Ceremony Will Show Paraplegic Teen
Kicking a Ball Rio de Janeiro (12 June 2014) – The 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil’s opening ceremony at the Itaquerão Stadium today in São Paulo will be historic, and not just because of football. For the first time ever, a young paraplegic will kick a ball on an official FIFA football field. The scientific display is part of the Walk Again Project, a consortium made up of hundreds of people from universities and research institutes worldwide, under the direction of Brazilian neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis. Dr. Nicolelis coordinates scientists and experts of 25 nationalities from every continent. The purpose of the project is to develop a brain-to-machine interface technology that allows people with restricted mobility such as a paraplegic to walk again using their minds to control a device outside of the body. The device, referred to as an exoskeleton, substitutes for the functioning of the lower limbs. According to Dr. Nicolelis, this is just the starting point of a future in which paralyzed people will be able to abandon their wheelchairs and – literally – be able to walk again. The project is being financed by Finep Innovation and Research, a Brazilian government-owned company under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), at a cost of approximately R$ 33 million. Tests were finished in May, thereby accomplishing all the scientific, clinical and technological objectives of this stage of the project. The results will be presented to the scientific community through publications in scientific journals in the months to come. In Brazil, implementation of the Walk Again Project is under the leadership of the Edmond and Lily Safra International Neuroscience Institute of Natal (IINN-ELS) in partnership with the Association for the Assistance to Disabled Children (AACD) of São Paulo. Finep invested in this project in January 2013, providing the necessary resources for implementing this stage of the project at IINN-ELS and setting up new facilities in a laboratory in the São Paulo capital, where Dr. Nicolelis’ team is working on developing a new form of neurorehabilitation and also on the exoskeleton. Accreditation for the Open Media Centre must be done through the World Cup Portal. For additional information, please see: www.copa2014.gov.br/cam (Portuguese) Social Media
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