Brain-computer interfaces bring hope for the paralysed

~ Written by Purujit Bhat

An array of 100 silicon micro-electrodes is implanted into the motor cortex of the brain to establish a ‘Bluetooth’ connection with an unmodified commercial tablet that acts as a brain-computer interface. It is beneficial to patients diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Spinal Cord Injury who were essentially the target groups of this experiment. The movement controlling brain cells are situated close to these electrodes (motor cortex). These electrodes pick the ‘sound’ of the brain cells.

Decoders decode this information and translate them into a point and click commands using complex algorithms. Our study’s success marks a major milestone on the road to improving quality of life for people with paralysis,” said Jaimie Henderson, MD, professor of neurosurgery, who performed two of the three device-implantation procedures at Stanford Hospital. The proficient nature of this high-speed, accurate technique establishes communication with patients suffering from paralysis.

This technique began after 16-year-old German Aldana met with an accident and was paralyzed. At the age of 21, Researchers with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis opened her skull and implanted electrodes. The patterns interpreted by the computer interface were used to convert his visualizations into analogue signals. This was done by transferring the signals to a prosthetic on the arm and used to stimulate muscles to cause movements. Then, in the lab, they trained a computer to interpret the pattern of signals from those electrodes as he imagines opening and closing his hand. It only took 400 milliseconds for this procedure, which marks a revolutionary breakthrough in the field of medicine.

References and further reading:

• https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2017/02/brain-computer-interface-allows-fast-accurate-typing-by-people-with-paralysis.html
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/spinal-cord-injury-patients-can-imagine-resuming-many-activities-because-of-new-technologies/2020/03/06/aa4aabb4-5410-11ea-929a-64efa7482a77_story.html
• Image source:https://www.newscientist.com/article/2121853-mind-reading-typing-tool-for-paralysed-people-is-fastest-yet/