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As 2024 comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to look back on the year and all of the noteworthy news that has happened in the SCI community from spinal cord injury research breakthroughs to the development of exciting products. See our picks below.
10. Debut of AdapTee Golf
It’s not often a new sport for people with limited arm movement is created, which is why we’re proud to be behind the development of a new version of adaptive golf called AdapTee Golf that makes it possible for anyone to play. To play, a caddy is paired with each player as the player dictates the angle and direct of each shot.
Caddies will use either a power golf club, a slingshot or a pendulum putter to help with each hole. Keep tabs on our social media in 2025 for opportunities to play AdapTee Golf around the country.
9. Paralyzed Race Car Driver Robert Wickens Returns to Elite Level Racing
After sustaining a spinal cord injury in 2018 while racing IndyCar, Robert Wickens has been determined to return to racing on a competitive level. Although he began to compete in racing right after his accident in various circuits, it wasn’t until 2024, thanks to the creation of advanced hand controls for elite cars (Bosch Electronics), when Wickens was able to make his ultimate dream come true.
In November 2024, it was announced that he would be the newest driver for DXDT Racing in 2025, which moved him up to IMSA GTD competition for 2025, the highest class on the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series. Because of this, Wickens has truly broken the glass ceiling in mainstream auto racing for adaptive athletes.
8. First Female on US Wheelchair Rugby Team at Paris 2024 Paralympics
Wheelchair rugby has come a long way since 40 plus years ago when it was first created and all players were men and had quadriplegia. Sarah Adam, an occupational therapist with MS, wanted to play the sport after her mobility became limited. She discovered she had a natural talent and went on to make the US Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Team for the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
Adam became the first woman to ever make the US team and helped the team win 2nd place.
7. Passing of Advocate Brooke Ellison
A true legend in the spinal cord community who was the subject of the only film written and directed by Christopher Reeve after his accident, The Brooke Ellison Story, Ellison was a vent-dependent quadriplegic who was the first quadriplegic to graduate from Harvard and went on to become a vocal advocate for disability rights and stem cell research.
Ellison also ran for New York State Senate in 2006 and was a successful speaker and author. She passed away in February after a battle with pneumonia and will be greatly missed.
6. Neural Stem Cell Implants in Chronic Injured
In a Phase 1 clinical trial at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, researchers were able to demonstrate the long-term safety of neural stem cell transplantation, which they hope will one day change the lives of people living with chronic spinal cord injuries. Over a five year period, researchers followed four patients, two of which saw noticeable neurological improvement after receiving the implant.
These two individuals specifically experienced increased motor and sensory scores as well as improved electromyography activity.
5. Neuralink Begins Human Trials
Another big story in the spinal cord injury research world in 2024 was the first human trial to occur at Neuralink. This trial implanted a BCI, a brain computer interface, into the spinal cord of an individual with quadriplegia, which they hope will one day restore bodily movement and sensation.
Their first hurdle however was getting the patient to be able to control a computer with just his thoughts, which they were successful in doing. Canada will be the next country where Neuralink will be doing human trials in 2025.
4. Tobias Forrest Makes Disability History in Hollywood
The realness of life with a side note of spinal cord injury was portrayed in the film Daruma this year, which also made disability history for casting. The film starred Tobias Forrest, a C5 quadriplegic injured in 1998 who portrayed a man suddenly made aware of a daughter he never knew, as well as another actor with a disability (double arm amputee).
Because of this, it will forever be known as the first movie to be brave enough to cast two leads with disabilities. The film is available on Amazon Prime.
3. South Korean Scientists Invent Shape-Shifting Wheels
The world very well may look back on 2024 as the year one of the world’s most important mobility devices was created – the morphing wheels created by scientists and students at a machinery school in South Korea. This revolutionary wheel design will hopefully be used in power wheelchairs in the near future, as well as delivery and industrial robots that encounter stairs, curbs, or any other obstacles that rigid wheels will not overcome.
Combining both sensors and spoke wires, the wheel is able to morph due to its outer hoop chain and series of spoke wires that run through the hub of the wheel itself. The inspiration for this design came from water droplets and the wheel is able to roll over obstacles that are up to 1.3 times the height of its radius.
2. Mayo Clinic Stem Cell Clinical Trial Sees Groundbreaking Results
The Mayo Clinic this year released the findings from phase 1 of a successful spinal cord injury clinical trial that included 10 people with spinal cord injuries. The trial took stem cells from the participants’ own fat cells and injected them into their injury sites. Seven out of 10 patients saw an increase in sensation or strength in various muscles, and seven of the participants moved up at least one level on the ASIA scale.
1. Department of Transportation Enacts New Rights for Travelers with Disabilities
At the end of 2024, one of the most important changes to happen in the transportation world for people with disabilities in a very long time were the new protections granted by the Department of Transportation for people with disabilities when they fly. And these protections are sweeping.
They require airlines meet rigorous new standards for accommodating passengers with disabilities, such as setting new standards for assistance, requiring more hands-on training for employees who physically assist passengers with disabilities, and it strictly specifies what airlines must do to protect passengers when a wheelchair is damaged or delayed during transport.
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