Brain-reading implant controls robotic arm

Thanks to two tiny sensors implanted into brain, people who are paralysed will be getting a whole new level of independence that will enable them to pick up beers, shake other people’s hands, and play paper, scissors, rock.

Erik Sorto, a 34 year old American, is that lucky first person to have this new technology (a neuro-prosthetic device) implanted in the region of the brain where intensions are formed. Sorto has been unable to move his arms or legs for over a decade due to being paralysed following a gunshot wound, and with this new device he is able to sip a beer unaided for the very first time in ten years. Although this is not the first mind-controlled robot arm, it is different from other concepts before it.

A team of researchers from various institutes led by Caltech implemented the first trial to insert implants into the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), which is a ‘higher’ brain region that encodes our intentions. Other contemporary mind-controlled robot arms still focused on the brain’s motor cortex, the part responsible for the action of individual muscles. However, the result seemed to produce movements that were delayed and jerky.

Instead of targeting the region of the brain that controls muscles, PPC is in charge of our intent to move. A good example to illustrate this is the difference between deciding to shake someone’s hand and telling your hand to follow the instructions. Therefore in order to control the robot arm, the person has to think of what he or she intends to do, instead of imagining the details of particular action like imagine each step such as lift forearm, extend, grasp the person’s hand, lift up, and down, and up. This allows the movement to be completed faster and more smoothly. The neurologist Christianne Heck of University of Southern California believes that this is an important early clinical trial that could aid patients with all sorts of neurological problems included strokes, brain injuries, ALS, and also multiple sclerosis.

However, developments are still being restricted due to this procedure requiring an implant with wires coming out of brain, which consequently holds the risk of infection. Thus the neutral prosthetic devices still have a long way to go before widespread practical therapeutic use.

To check out further explanation of this revolutionary device, please see the clip below:

Brain-reading implant controls robotic arm

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