Professor Graeme Clark, the Melbourne scientist who pioneered the cochlear imlpant, is developing a spinal cord implant to help paraplegics walk again.

The spinal cord implant relies on the same bionic technology that has restored the sensation of heairng to more than 50,000 deaf people worldwide.

Professor Clark said that developing the spinal chord implant was just as challenging as making the cochlear implant, which he refers to as the bionic ear: "With the bionic ear, 99% of the world's scientists said it wouldn't work and I was severely criticised. There's now more of a sense of optimisim with the spinal cord project but the problems are just as complex."