In the UK and Ireland, approximately 1,000 people per year sustain an injury to the spinal cord. Approximately 50,000 people live with paralysis. The cost to the nation is estimated at £1 billion per annum. Current standard surgical procedures are merely trying to preserve the spinal cord function rather than to treat the injury. Hence there is very little hope for recovery of function for patients after spinal cord injury (SCI). Therefore, this research is conducted to investigate the potential abilities of cells within the spinal cord to repair themselves by using a functionalised biomaterial scaffold. Our previous studies have highlighted the advantages of using scaffold following spinal cord injury and have shown very promising results.
