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The journal Nature reports on a science fiction style jump in technology, where aninterface on the brain is used to connect to a robotic arm andprovide real time thought control. It is a dramatic leap for thetechnology which has been tested with paralyzed patients and giveshope for Stars Wars style bionic technology, for wounded soldiersand paraplegics. The experiment was conducted on April 12th this year at BrownUniversity in Providence, Rhode Island. The test subjects, a 58year old woman (S3) and a 66 year old man (T2), had both beenparalyzed by a stroke to the brain stem, which left them with no control of their limbs.Scientists used neural activity to interpret the person's thoughtsand direct instructions to a computer controlled robotic arm. The experiment tested out two different devices. The first wasmanufactured by DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics and theother by DEKA Research and Development Corp. The goal of theexperiment was to be able to interpret thought commands to allowthe patient to reach out across three dimensional space and graspobjects. Known as the Braingate2 pilot trial, it employed the experimentalBraingate system, initially developed at Brown University. Aninterface the size of a small pill, containing a grid of 96electrodes is implanted into the motor cortex in the brain. Themotor cortex controls voluntary movement. The electrodes are closeenough to the individual neurons to be able to record the neuralactivity accurately enough to process the instructions to a thirdparty device outside the body. A computer is then used to translatethe commands into language that the robotic arm can understand. The previous Braingate study had success with basic two dimensionalcontrol of robotic devices, such as controlling a mouse or clickinga cursor on a screen. The new study represents the firstdemonstration and the first peer-reviewed report of people withtetraplegia, to use brain controlled signals to control a roboticarm three dimensionally, although in 2009, the inventor andentrepreneur Raymond Kurzweil outlined a similar technology that hehad tested, using a chip embedded in his arm. A documentary calledthe Transcendent Man, about the processes and many of his otherinventions and life's work was released, and the concept of human'sinterfacing and incorporating technology directly into theirbrain's and bodies is certainly an interesting one that sciencefiction has been quite light on exploring. Lead author Dr. Leigh Hochberg, a neuroengineer and critical careneurologist who holds appointments at the Department of VeteransAffairs, Brown University, Massachusetts General Hospital andHarvard said : "Our goal in this research is to develop technology that willrestore independence and mobility for people with paralysis or limbloss .. We have much more work to do, but the encouraging progressof this research is demonstrated not only in the reach-and-graspdata, but even more so in S3's smile when she served herself coffeeof her own volition for the first time in almost 15 years." Dr. Hochberg, is the sponsor-investigator for the BrainGate2 pilotclinical trial. John Donoghue, the VA and Brown neuroscientist who pioneeredBrainGate more than ten years ago said the new work demonstrateshow far the field of brain-computer interfaces has come since it'sinception. "This paper reports an important advance by rigorouslydemonstrating in more than one participant that precisethree-dimensional neural control of robot arms is not onlypossible, but also repeatable .. We've moved significantly closerto returning everyday functions, like serving yourself a sip ofcoffee, usually performed effortlessly by the arm and hand, forpeople who are unable to move their own limbs. We are alsoencouraged to see useful control more than five years after implantof the BrainGate array in one of our participants. This work is acritical step toward realizing the long-term goal of creating aneurotechnology that will restore movement, control, andindependence to people with paralysis or limb loss." Essentially, the robotic limb was able to be a substitute for thepatients real arm. With more advanced battery power and lightalloys, the concept of bionic limbs is simply a question of a fewyears away. In the Brown experiment, the target objects wererelatively large, more than half the width of the robots hand, thusrequiring the patient to exert a precise control of the device. In 158 trials held over four days, the woman (S3) was able to touchthe target within an allotted time in 48.8 percent of the casesusing the DLR robotic arm and hand, and 69.2 percent of the caseswith the DEKA arm and hand, which has the wider grasp. In 45 trials using the DEKA arm, the man (T2) touched the target95.6 percent of the time. Of the successful touches, S3 grasped thetarget 43.6 percent of the time with the DLR arm and 66.7 percentof the time with the DEKA arm. T2's grasp succeeded 62.2 percent ofthe time. T2 explained his experiences : "I just imagined moving my own arm and the [DEKA] arm moved where Iwanted it to go." Patrick van der Smagt, head of bionics and assistive robotics atDLR, director of biomimetic robotics and machine learning labs atDLR and the Technische Universit t M nchen, and a co-seniorauthor on the paper, discussed the development of the arm itself: "This is what we were hoping for with this arm. We wanted to createan arm that could be used intuitively by varying forms of control.The arm is already in use by numerous research labs around theworld who use its unique interaction and safety capabilities. Thisis a compelling demonstration of the potential utility of the armby a person with paralysis." It's certainly a fantastic advancement and the thought of beingable to type this article in real time simply with brain control,is a very exciting one. Direct brain control of a computer wouldincrease productivity dramatically. Written by Rupert Shepherd Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Additional References Citations. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Acrylic Bakery Display Case , China Acrylic Calendar Holder for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Acrylic Display Case.
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