Jennifer French: One of the First Bionic Women Shares the Value of the Neurotech Network

Cleveland FES Center, People

Jennifer French from St. Petersburg, Florida, is an incomplete quadriplegic. Thanks to advancements in assistive technology, she can stand, transfer, exercise and live independently. To promote new studies, equipment, treatments  and therapies that can help people with neurological problems easier, she and her husband created the Neurotech Network in 1998. This non-profit organization is dedicated to improving the education of…

The Jennifer French Story

FES, People

At the age of 26, Jennifer French’s life changed after suffering injury to her spinal cord in a snowboard accident. 2 years after becoming a quadriplegic, she found help at the Cleveland FES Center where she became part of a neurotechnology study. Watch the video…

Paralyzed Again

FES, People, Research

We have the technology to dramatically increase the independence of people with spinal-cord injuries. The problem is bringing it to market and keeping it there. One night in 1982, John Mumford was working on an avalanche patrol on an icy Colorado mountain pass when the van carrying him and two other men slid off the…

Brain-Computer Interface Devices to Bring Us into the Future

Cleveland FES Center, Neural Interface, People

Addressing regulators, members of industry, and other stakeholders, Jennifer French delivered a powerful message about those requiring brain–computer interface (BCI) devices to treat paralysis and other neurological conditions: “We are not patients; we are consumers, end users.” French, who is quadriplegic, spoke at a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) workshop, held Nov. 21 at…