America
Indian engineer develops thought-controlled prostheses
Washington, Aug 2
An Indian American electrical
engineer from the Stanford University has developed a technique to make
brain-controlled prostheses more precise.
The thought-controlled
device developed by Krishna Shenoy and his team analyses the neuron
sample and makes dozens of corrective adjustments to the estimate of the
brain's electrical pattern -- all in the blink of an eye.
"Brain-controlled prostheses will lead to a substantial improvement in quality of life," Shenoy said.
"The
speed and accuracy demonstrated in this prosthesis results from years
of basic neuroscience research and from combining these scientific
discoveries with the principled design of mathematical control
algorithms," he added.
Shenoy's team tested a brain-controlled cursor meant to operate a virtual keyboard.
The
system is intended for people with paralysis and amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS degrades one's
ability to move.
"The thought-controlled keypad would allow a
person with paralysis or ALS to run an electronic wheelchair and use a
computer or tablet," Shenoy informed.
The goal is to get thought-controlled prosthetics to people with ALS.
Today these people may use an eye-tracking system to direct cursors or a "head mouse" that tracks the movement of the head.
Both are fatiguing to use as neither provides the natural and intuitive control of readings taken directly from the brain.
The
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also given Shenoy's team its
nod to conduct a pilot clinical trial of their thought-controlled cursor
on people with spinal cord injuries.
"This is a fundamentally
new approach that can be further refined and optimised to give
brain-controlled prostheses greater performance, and therefore greater
clinical viability," Shenoy noted.
When we type or perform other precise tasks, our brains and muscles usually work together effortlessly.
But
when a neurological disease or spinal cord injury severs the connection
between the brain and limbs, once-easy motions become difficult or
impossible.
In recent years, researchers have sought to give
people suffering from injury or disease some restored motor function by
developing thought-controlled prostheses.
Such devices tap into
the relevant regions of the brain, bypass damaged connections and
deliver thought commands to devices such as virtual keypads.
The findings appeared in the journal Nature Communications.