Artificial bladder

British researchers are testing future devices to restore bladder function in people with severe spinal injuries.

Neurological damage in severe spinal injuries can cause the patient to completely lose the feeling of fullness in the bladder or not control when to go to the toilet.

Spinal damage can sever the exchange of information between the brain and the bladder - (Photo: fineartamerica.com)

Losing the control of the bladder, bowel and sexual function after a spinal injury is often seen by the patient as the greatest influence on the quality of life.

The new report, published in the Science Translational Medicine journal, introduced a device that reads the signals of the remaining nerves, which are responsible for controlling the organ.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have thought about how to put electrodes around nerve bundles, to interpret signals about the state of the bladder, which in turn helps normalization.

The device has been successfully tested in mice, and is being converted to serve people.

And the biggest challenge of experts is how to shrink the device size, currently depends on a 2m high machine, which can be compact and portable.