Brain Implants to Control the Computer
Published: Jun 19, 2007Researchers of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena say that within a year they expect to be able to fit a paralyzed person with a implant that will allow them to control a computer cursor and navigate the web.
An assistive technology (AT) device that automatically moves electrodes through the brain to seek out the strongest signals are essential if AT devices in the brain are ever going to work.
“Implants could help people who are paralyzed or unable to communicate because of spinal injury or conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Electrodes implanted in the brain could, in principle, pick up neural signals and convey them to a prosthetic arm or a computer cursor,” according to New Scientist.
The problem is that electrodes shift due to a slight knock or a change in blood pressure and implants can lose the signal. Joel Burdick and Richard Andersen have developed a device in which the electrodes sense where the strongest signal is coming from, and move towards it. Their prototype, which is mounted on the skull, uses piezoelectric motors to move four electrodes independently of each other in 1-micrometre increments.
Tests on animals have proven that the microdrive works and moves toward the strongest signal, but before the technology can be used on humans the microdrive needs to be smaller and equipped with at least 100 electrodes.
Source: NewScientist
