DAYTON, Ohio (UPI) - In
fiction, a certain Dr.
Frankenstein rammed bolts
of electricity into his patient
to bring it to life. Un-
fortunately, he created a
monster that destroyed him.

In Dayton, in real life, a
certain Dr. Petrofsky rams
bolts of electricity into his
patients to bring them to life.
Fortunately, he creates
happy patients who thank
him.

“Nobody has accused me

yet of being a Dr. Fr-
nakenstein,” Dr. Jerrold
Petrofsky said, laughing,

“but some people have the
idea I'm making robots,”

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You can see why people
might get that idea.

The doctor links electric
current with computers to
produce movement in
otherwise lifeless muscles of
paralysis patients.

Even though the patients
are not in conventional
control of their movements,
they do not feel like robots.
They feel more human.

“My patients are very
happy about the ex-
periments,” Petrofsky said.
“Although they’re paralyzed,
they're very surprised to
discover just what their
bodies can still do.”

Everything Petrofsky is

Saturday 8-00 am 6pm

doing is aimed at restoring
movement for certain types
of paralysis patients — those
who have been paralyzed
because the path of com-
munication between the
brain and leg muscles has
been broken.

Petrofsky, 34, is director
of Wright State University’s
biomedical engineering lab,
where he has been able to

get paralyzed people to
pedal a stationary bicycle for

more than eight straight
minutes.
He does it by taping

electrodes to the skin over
six major muscle groups in
the legs. He programs a

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computer to order suc-
cessive, millisecond bursts of
electrical stimulation to the

appropriate muscles.  In-
stanteous feédback to the
computer regulates the
movements.

“The movements are very,
very smooth,’ said

Petrofsky. “Just as smooth as
a normal person pedaling. a
bike.”

Petrofsky’s next step is to
make his’ electrode-
computer gadget portable
and permit his patients to
ride tricycles outside.

His ultimate goal is to
have paralyzed people walk,
with microprocessors (tiny

»,

C3 - Wedmesday, August 4, 1982 - North Shore News

computers on chips) im-
planted near their paralyzed
muscles.

‘A lot of doctors once
figured people in
wheelchairs would never
walk again,” Petrofsky said.
“But, that’s the direction
we're headed in.”

As optimistic as Petrofsky
is, however, he recognizes
the limitatons of his entire
project.

“This is not a cure for
paralysis,” he says. “It’s a
bypass. If and when
someone comes along and
creates a drug that will cure
paralysis, great. Until then,
I'm working on this bypass.”

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Electric shock helps the handicapped move.

There are an estimated
500,000 Americans confined
to wheelchairs and Petrofsky
estimates perhaps 300,000
could be helped by his
techniques.

“If the motor nerves that
go to the muscles are intact,
this system will work,” he
said.

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