University of Pittsburgh researchers aiming to help stroke patients reconnect brain and limb recently hit a major milestone. “It is like a quantum change in the way that stroke rehabilitation is being handled,” Wittenberg said. Under the pilot, patients received cervical epidural spinal cord stimulation in the region controlling arm and hand movement through the implantation of thin electrodes along the neck. People already get pacemakers to keep their heart going, so why not have a spinal cord stimulator to keep their movement going?” Capogrosso believes that, absent any major hurdles, the technology could be approved for use in stroke patients within three to five years.