Mind-Blowing Chips

For thousands of paralytics and quadriplegics, the hope of being able to move and function again like they did before is a far-off dream. But unknown to many, this dream may be realized sooner than they think.

Researchers have been working hard for many years now in their quest to understand how our thoughts are translated into action. For Dr. John P. Donoghue, Ph.D., chair of the department of neuroscience at Brown University, 20 long years of intensive research have paid off. He and his team have finally decoded some parts of the mind-boggling puzzle that is the human brain. And when Richard Normann, professor of bioengineering at the University of Utah, the BrainGate Neural Interface System came to be through Cyberkinetics Inc.

Today, Cyberkinetics leads the research on brain-computer interface or BCI. The technology makes use of a 2-mm-by-2-mm computer chip consisting of 100 electrodes, implanted underneath the skull attached directly to the motor cortex of the brain.

The first patient, Matthew Nagle, is currently very happy with the results. Using the BrainGate system he can now open e-mail, change TV channels, turn on lights, play video games like Tetris and even move a robotic arm, just by thinking. It's like mental telepathy! Only, it's science at work.

A patient just needs to direct his thoughts to move the cursor on his computer screen. The sensor in his brain picks up the hard-to-detect electrical signals and sends them through three computers that process them into signals just like those from a computer mouse.

Another recent development in BCI is the creation of an effective noninvasive method. Jonathan Wolpaw, a professor at the Wadsworth Center in New York, has developed a cap that can pick up brain signals at least as well as the BrainGate system. Unlike previous attempts, this device reads signals effectively through the skull.

This is good news since most people would prefer a noninvasive device. Despite the fact that implanted devices usually guarantee greater accuracy, there's always the risk of infection or even brain damage.

In the future, researchers plan to take this technology a notch higher by creating wireless handheld devices. And making the system even more accurate to allow the patient to pour a cup of coffee, swing a badminton racket or write a letter to ultimately give them more hope and a desire to enjoy life.

Originally published in Speed Magazine