Computer-brain interface to give limb movement back
Scientists at the Massachusetts General Hospital are in a pilot program to attach a computer to the brain of a patient with spinal cord injuries. The computer can interpret signals from the brain and then move either a mechanical arm and hand, or move the arm and hand of the individual. This is still very much research, but computer signal processing is constantly increasing making it possible for ever finer muscle control. Creating an interface between computers and the human brain has been the holy grail of medical/computer research for the better part of 40 years. Only now have computers and interfaces become small enough to be implanted in the brain areas needed. This new study is hoping to prove that these new computers can allow spinal cord injury patients to move either artificial arms and hands, or move their own arm. If this research pans out, spinal cord injury patients will be able to live a more normal life by just thinking about moving rather than ask a nurse to get something or turn a page on a book. (Source: Genetic Engineering News)
MIT researchers have been working on these problems for man years. Some researchers have had computer chips implanted in their body so they could see if arms and hands could be controlled using computer interfaces. They have made great leaps in what the brain can control to the point that proof of concepts have been built. The problem is that the computers are too large to be moved and there are not enough interfaces that could be implanted in the brain move a hand efficiently. With chips shrinking in size and increasing in power interfaces can now control fingers and other muscles bringing fine motor skills within reach of scientists.
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