Brain-computer interfaces
p2pnet.net News:- Four people, two of them partially paralyzed, have been able to control a computer cursor by thinking about it.
They were using Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) developed by a team of researchers from the Laboratory of Nervous System Disorders, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, and State University of New York.
Electrodes in a skull cap record electroencephalographic (EEG) activity which is then translated by an adaptive algorithm so people, including those with spinal cord injuries, gain multidimensional point-to-point movement control.
“Brain activity produces electrical signals that can be detected from the scalp, from the cortical surface, or within the brain,” say Jonathan Wolpaw and Dennis McFarlane in Control of a two-dimensional movement signal by a noninvasive brain–computer interface in humans, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) change these signals from mere reflections of brain activity into outputs that convey the user’s intent to the outside world. Because they do not depend on nerves and muscles, BCIs can provide communication and control to people with severe neuromuscular disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), brainstem stroke, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injury.
“The primary goal of BCI research is to enable these users, who may be completely paralyzed (’locked in,’ unable even to breathe or to move their eyes), to express their wishes to caregivers, operate wordprocessing programs, or even control multidimensional movements of a robotic arm or a neuroprosthesis.”
EEG activity was recorded from 64 standard electrode locations distributed over the entire scalp. All 64 channels were referenced to the right ear, amplified 20,000X (bandpass 0.1–60 Hz), digitized at 160 Hz, and stored.
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