A fall from a 10 foot ladder triggered a cascade of neurological problems that might have left an Ontario man paralyzed on his right side for life.

But working with a device that delivers an electrical shock through the tongue has allowed him to recover movement and speech, and even has him looking towards a future where he can return to work.

Combined with traditional speech and movement therapy, Mark Foster uses a portable neuro-modulation stimulator, or PoNS device, to deliver a very small electrical current through his tongue to the brain. The current, controlled via a collar worn around the neck, helps form new pathways for existing skills, and can help increase the efficacy of existing therapies.

Foster has been truly impressed, and made more progress in 6 months with the PoNS device than in 4 years of traditional therapy.

“I would say that it has helped an immense amount with confidence,” Foster told London Free Press. “It hasn’t been perfect, don’t get me wrong… but I’m having an easier time getting around.”

Foster, from London, Canada, was laying electrical wire on a build site in Paris (also in Canada), when he fell onto the cement below. He stood up, dusted himself off, and after a moment, concluded he was fine.

Then, at the urging of a coworker, he went to the hospital for a CT scan and MRI. They concluded he had extensive swelling, but also an unusual formation of cells in his brain called a cavernoma that would have pre-dated the fall. A week later, unable to sleep, Foster went for a warm shower, which increased his blood pressure and led to a stroke.

Interestingly enough, he was recovering well from the stroke itself, before his wife Sonia noticed him slurring his speech and having trouble with balance. They returned to the hospital and found the swelling in his brain’s cavernoma area so extreme that the determination was to perform brain surgery immediately, as he was bleeding and experiencing something like a mini-stroke.

It erased both the progress Foster had already made, and most of the hope he had left.

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“It took a long time to go from absolutely nothing,” Foster said. “It broke my heart, but at the same time, it gave me a reason to kind of push myself trying to get back into the swing of things.”

The PoNS device, built by Helius Medical Technology, was originally designed to assist in multiple sclerosis recovery, but also, recently and successfully underwent an FDA-overseen Phase 3 clinical trial for stroke rehabilitation.

Over 100 patients undergoing a double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial found significantly increased benefit from physical rehabilitation for both balance and gait when using the PoNS device.

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In June, CignaHealth became the fifth major payer to authorize a claim for the PoNS mouthpiece and controller at out-of-network adjusted negotiated list price of $19,161. The average in-network contracted payment rate is $18,350.

GNN has reported on these togue-zapping therapies before, with another such device being designed for use in the curing of tinnitus.

WATCH the company press release below… 

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