FreeWheels BR

Jonatas Moreira, 42, has a remarkable story of resilience. At 25, his life changed dramatically after a motorcycle accident. Riding as a passenger, the bike collided with a speeding taxi, throwing Jonatas to the pavement, where he suffered a spinal cord injury at the T4 vertebra. Despite his initial instinct to help his friend, he quickly realized something was wrong—his body shut down, and from that moment on, he became paraplegic.

Over the years, Jonatas found strength through physical activity. Four years ago, he joined a research project at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) as a volunteer, exploring electrostimulation technology. This work led him to train as an athlete, and now, he proudly represents the FreeWheels BR team at Cybathlon 2024.

Today, Jonatas is supported by a dedicated team of doctors, physiotherapists, nutritionists, psychologists, and engineers, all helping him to reach peak performance. His bond with his teammates is invaluable, and functional electrical stimulation has become a crucial part of his journey. Cybathlon 2024 will not only be Jonatas' debut on the global stage but also his first international experience, and he's more than ready to make his mark.

Our device is a proprietary eight channel functional electrostimulation device, based on transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. It was constructed in the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, under the School of Engineering of Federal University of Minas Gerais. We have had a series of projects to implement new interesting features for the device, such as AI processing for fatigue compensation, higher power limits and safety systems. Our goal is to make it all an open source project, and allow students to develop new techniques for electrostimulation therapy, not limited to FES-Cycling.