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3D3121
Human Studies Show Feasibility of Brain-Machine Interfaces
KurzweilAI.net, Mar. 24, 2004
In their first human studies of the feasibility of using brain signals to operate external devices, researchers at Duke University Medical Center report that arrays of electrodes can provide useable signals for controlling such devices. The research team is now working to develop prototype devices that may enable paralyzed people to operate "neuroprosthetic" and other external devices usin
only their brain signals.
Dennis Turner, M.D., and Parag Patil, M.D.
The research team, led by neurosurgeon and professor of neurobiology Dennis Turner, M.D., and neurobiologist Miguel
Nic
olelis, M.D., will publish their results in the July 2004 issue of the journal Neurosu
rgery.
The research builds on earlier studies in the Nicolelis laboratory, in which monkeys learned to control a robot arm using only their brain signals.
In the initial human studies, researchers recorded electrical signals from arrays of 32 microelectrodes during surgeries performed to relieve the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and tremor disorders.
The researchers added a simple manual task to the surgical procedure: While brain signals were recorded using the novel 32-channel electrode array, the 11 volunteer patients were asked to play a hand-controlled video game.
Subsequently analyzing the signals from these experiments, the team found that the signals contained enough in
formation to be useful in predicting the hand motions.
While the most obvious application of such technology would be a robot arm for a quadriplegic, Turner and his colleagues are planning other
devices, su
ch as a neurally controlled electric wheelchair and a neurally operated keyboard outputting eithe
r text or speech. Such devices could help paralyzed people and those who have lost speech capabilities because of stroke or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Duke University Medical Center news release
3D3121
Human Studies Show Feasibility of Brain-Machine Interfaces
KurzweilAI.net, Mar. 24, 2004
In their first human studies of the feasibility of using brain signals to operate external devices, researchers at Duke University Medical Center report that arrays of electrodes can provide useable signals for controlling such devices. The research team is now working to develop prototype devices that may enable paralyzed people to operate "neuroprosthetic" and other external devices usin
only their brain signals.
Dennis Turner, M.D., and Parag Patil, M.D.
The research team, led by neurosurgeon and professor of neurobiology Dennis Turner, M.D., and neurobiologist Miguel
Nic
olelis, M.D., will publish their results in the July 2004 issue of the journal Neurosu
rgery.
The research builds on earlier studies in the Nicolelis laboratory, in which monkeys learned to control a robot arm using only their brain signals.
In the initial human studies, researchers recorded electrical signals from arrays of 32 microelectrodes during surgeries performed to relieve the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and tremor disorders.
The researchers added a simple manual task to the surgical procedure: While brain signals were recorded using the novel 32-channel electrode array, the 11 volunteer patients were asked to play a hand-controlled video game.
Subsequently analyzing the signals from these experiments, the team found that the signals contained enough in
formation to be useful in predicting the hand motions.
While the most obvious application of such technology would be a robot arm for a quadriplegic, Turner and his colleagues are planning other
devices, su
ch as a neurally controlled electric wheelchair and a neurally operated keyboard outputting eithe
r text or speech. Such devices could help paralyzed people and those who have lost speech capabilities because of stroke or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Duke University Medical Center news release