Miami, U.S.A. — NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti and his son Marc of the The Buoniconti Fund, the fundraising arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, hosted an inspirational evening with more than 2,000 guests to celebrate Destination Fashion 2012. Held at Miami’s famed Bal Harbour Shops, Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbour presented Emilio Pucci’s Spring 2013 Fashion Show Designed by Peter Dundas, which was followed by an interactive destination party experience and private concert by Enrique Iglesias.

Tom Brokaw hosted the evening, which was chaired by Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones and International Polo Sensation Ignacio “Nacho” Figueras and raised $31 million for The Miami Project.

The staggering amount raised at the event was the result of some especially magnanimous donors who made announcements that astounded the sold-out crowd. The surprises began when Christine E. Lynn, who was being honored with the Humanitarian Award and is a Buoniconti Fund Board Member and longtime supporter, announced a gift of $25 million that would go to build state-of-the-art spinal cord injury surgical suites, surgical intensive care units and rehabilitation center. The new tower, to be called the Christine E. Lynn Tower for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, will house surgical suites, an in-patient rehabilitation hospital and rehabilitation research entities that will enhance the Miami Project’s research efforts toward finding a cure for paralysis.

Buoniconti Fund Board Member Paul DiMare and his wife Swanee, who were also honored during the evening with The Buoniconti Fund Award, and Tim Gannon, Buoniconti Fund Board Member and one of the founders of Outback Steakhouse, each gave an additional$1 million to the cause.

“This collective effort from globally known celebrities and philanthropists is a remarkable testament to their commitment to The Buoniconti Fund’s efforts and the research conducted at The Miami Project,” saidNick Buoniconti, founder of The Buoniconti Fund. “Destination Fashion is an event without compare that helps promote awareness and raises funds for a cause that affects millions of people worldwide and has an economic impact in the billions of dollars. That is why it is imperative that we succeed in our mission of finding a cure for paralysis, and tonight goes a long way to helping us get there.”

The November 10 affair included the presentation of the Inspiration Award to Micky and Madeleine Arison, the Champion for a Cure Award went to Edie Laquer and the Laquer Foundation, the Humanitarian Award to Christine E. Lynn, The Buoniconti Fund Award to Paul and Swanee DiMare , and the Philanthropist Award to Beatrice and Dr. Sanford Ziff.

Following the Emilio Pucci Fashion show and dinner, tribute was paid to The Buoniconti Fund’s notable 2012 Women of Substance and Style, who walked down the runway accompanied by Celebrity Presenters. The evening culminated with guests dancing to the musical stylings of DJ Irie and traveled their way through the shops, which were transformed into “The Destinations” of locations from around the world such as Asia, Africa and the Americas. Bal Harbour Shops donated one-of-a-kind silent auction items including a Harry Winston diamond timepiece valued at more than $34,000, Tiffany & Co. platinum and diamond earrings valued at $11,000 and Warren Henry Auto donated a year lease for the new Range Rover Evoque, to name a few.

Notable celebrities and presenters included: Steve Alaimo, Moises Alou, Stanley Bahnsen, Rick Barry,Bob Beamon, Woody Bennett, Bruce Bowen, Miguel Cabrera, Helio Castronoves, Jeff Conine, Channing Crowder, Christopher Cuomo, Gil de Ferran, Colin Egglesfield, Todd English, Scott Erickson, Mike Eruzione, Emilio Estefan, Gloria Estefan, Rod Gilbert, Tim Hardaway, Randall Hill, Marvin Jones, James Lafferty, Brad Leland, Danell Levya, Rex Linn, Joe Manganiello, Mercury Morris, Alonzo Mourning, Tony Nathan, Wayne Newton, John Offerdahl, Louis Oliver, Tony Perez, Mike Piazza, Errict Rhett, Brett Romberg, Mark Rypien, Matthew Settle, Dwight Stephenson, Tico Torres, Aiden Turner, EJ Viso and Jed Weaver.

Destination Fashion 2012 was presented by Micky and Madeleine Arison. Destination Fashion Champion for a Cure: Edie Laquer and The Laquer Foundation join Event, Continent and Ocean Sponsors including Bal Harbour Shops, Bal Harbour Village, Barton G., Carnival Corporation & plc., Coastal Construction Group, Susan and Mark Dalton, Wayne Gaunce, Kim and James Pallota. Scene Sponsors Anthony R. Abraham Foundation, Bunny Bastian, Trish and Dan Bell, Chanin and Adam Carlin, Roberta and Harvey Chaplin, City National Bank, Swanee and Paul DiMare, The Fairholme Foundation, Mary and Howard Frank, Richard Gray, Gretchen and Jay Jordan, Kandy and Jeffrey Kramer, Krupnick Campbell Malone Buser Slama Hancock et al, Lauren’s Kids, Christine E. Lynn, Robert and Judi Prokop Newman, Victoria Ranger Nunez and Mike Nunez, Simkins Rubell Family, Stamps Family Charitable Foundation, Laura and Irwin Tauber and Beatrice and Dr. Sanford Ziff.

Sponsors including American Airlines, Atlantico Rum, Aventura Worldwide Transportation Service, Chateau Group – Chateau Beach Residences, Comcast, Departures, FranklinDodd Communications, Ocean Drive Magazine, One Bal Harbour Resort and Spa, and Quarzo Bal Harbour Boutique Hotel, Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbour, Selecta Magazine, Southern Wine and Spirits, The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort and Tiffany & Co., Warren Henry Auto Group.

For more information about The Buoniconti Fund, please visit: www.thebuonicontifund.com, Facebook, orTwitter.

The article $31 Million Raised For “The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis” appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Wednesday, researchers reported stroke survivor Cathy Hutchinson did something she hasn’t been able to do in 15 years—move a bottle to her lips and take a sip from a straw. This may not sound like earth shattering news, but for Cathy and the researchers who created the technology she used, it was monumental—Cathy used only her mind to accomplish this task.

Cathy has been paralyzed as a result of a stroke she suffered several years ago.  Since then the 58-year-old has been unable to use her hands and has been in a “locked-in” state meaning that although her brain worked, the connection between it and the area below it was lost. Cathy retained the ability to produce these signals despite not being able to produce any actual movement.

Cathy and a male patient in a similar state were connected to a computer by means of the BrainGate neural interface system. The BrainGate neural interface system involves the implantation of a tiny electrode—the size of a baby aspirin on the motor cortex. The motor cortex is the area of the brain that controls movement. This chip listens to the signals generated by the patient as they think about moving their arm, translates these signals and sends instructions to the robotic arm to produce the movement.

Cathy and the other patient, a 66-year-old man, were asked to perform various tasks including touching and grabbing foam balls. Cathy was able to accomplish the tasks set before her about 50 percent of the time with a prosthetic arm manufactured by DEKA and about 70 percent with a prosthesis made by the German Aerospace Center.

Even more impressive is that the BrainGate system was implanted in Cathy’s brain about five years ago and still produces signals although they are weaker than they were previously. The researchers speculate that this weakening could be due to scar tissue build-up.

The key factor in the production of this technology was programming computers to interpret the signals produced by the brain as movement. The researchers spent quite a bit of time training both the patients and the computers. The computer receives signals from the interface via a cable that is plugged into a port in the patient’s head. The researchers asked the patients to imagine moving their arm in the same way the researchers were moving a prosthetic arm. Later, the computer utilized these data banks when the patients were asked to move the arm.

This technology is of paramount importance to those who have lost the ability to move and the researchers are encouraged that this is among the first steps to independence for those afflicted with paralysis.

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