Mind-controlled robotic wheelchair developed, tested
Scientists have developed a
brain-machine inter face that allows monkeys to navigate a robotic wheelchair
using just their thoughts, an advance that may help people who have lost muscle
control and mobility in the future.
The interface uses signals
from hundreds of neurons recorded in two regions of the monkeys' brains that
control movement and sensation.
As the animals think about
moving towards their goal in this case, a bowl of grapes computers
translate their brain activity into real-time operation of the wheelchair.
The interface demonstrates
the future potential for people with disabilities who have lost most muscle
control and mobility due to quadriplegia or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(ALS), said Miguel Nicolelis, codirector for the Duke University's Centre for
Neuroengineering in US.
“In some severely disabled
people, even blinking is not possible,“ Nicolelis said.
“For them, using a
wheelchair or device controlled by noninvasive measures like an EEG (a device
that monitors brain waves through electrodes on the scalp) may not be
sufficient,“ he said.
“We show clearly that if
you have intracranial implants, you get better control of a wheelchair than
with non-invasive devices,“ Nicolelis said. Scientists implanted hundreds of
hair-thin microfilaments in the premotor and somatosensory regions of the
brains of two rhesus macaques.
They trained the animals by
passively navigating the chair toward their goal, the bowl containing grapes.
During this training phase, the scientists recorded the primates' large-scale
electrical brain activity.
The researchers then
programmed a computer system to translate brain signals into motor commands
that controlled the movements of the wheelchair.
As the monkeys learned to
control the wheelchair just by thinking, they became more efficient at
navigating toward the grapes, Nicolelis said.
In addition to observing
brain signals that corresponded to translational and rotational movement, the
team also found that the primates were contemplating their distance to the bowl
of grapes.
“This was not a signal that
was present in the beginning of the training, but something that emerged as an
effect of the monkeys becoming proficient in this task,“ Nicolelis said.
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