Paralyzed man moves computer cursor through thought

[Lazy Bastard]

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - A paralyzed man using a new brain sensor has been able to move a computer cursor, open e-mail and control a robotic device simply by thinking about doing it, a team of scientists said on Wednesday.

They believe the BrainGate sensor, which involves implanting electrodes in the brain, could offer new hope to people paralyzed by injuries or illnesses.

"This is the first step in an ongoing clinical trial of a device that is encouraging for its potential to help people with paralysis," Dr Leigh Hochberg, of Massachusetts General Hospital, said in an interview.

The 25-year-old man who suffered paralysis of all four limbs three years earlier completed tasks such moving a cursor on a screen and controlling a robotic arm.

He is the first of four patients with spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, stroke or motor neurone disease testing the brain-to-movement system developed by Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems Inc (CYKN.OB: Quote, Profile, Research) in Massachusetts.

"This is the dawn of major neurotechnology where the ability to take signals out of the brain has taken a big step forward. We have the ability to put signals into the brain but getting signals out is a real challenge. I think this represents a landmark event," said Professor John Donoghue of Brown University in Rhode Island and the chief scientific officer of Cyberkinetics.

The scientists implanted a tiny silicon chip with 100 electrodes into an area of the brain responsible for movement. The activity of the cells was recorded and sent to a computer which translated the commands and enabled the patient to move and control the external device.

"This part of the brain, the motor cortex, which usually sends its signals down the spinal cord and out to the limbs to control movement, can still be used by this participant to control an external device, even after years had gone by since his spinal cord injury," added Hochberg, a co-author of the study published in the journal Nature.
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That's pretty damn impressive...

[LiquidManZero]

That's quite cool. I think I've heard of it before, but it's still cool. Sort of similar to the mind reading helmet thing somebody at MIT came up with. Probably much more effective though...

[MathUser]

It reminds me of when LMZ asked Ugetab to make a site tool that would let him post things straight from his brain. Who knows. Maybe in a few years we could buy one of those things for LMZ.

[GeoTube]

Seen it about a year before, that was just a chip in the head as well, works suprisingly well from what I've read.

[LiquidManZero]

That'd be nice, a direct neural connection to a hacking device...

[Shad0wHacker]

Well, just don't let anyone be caught at the site when he's jackin off.