Joel Orr's World

Medical Design Magazine :: Turning thoughts into action:

The electrical data recorded by the Neurotrophic Electrode from Neural Signals is exported to command a computer that speaks a phoneme for every electrical event or spike.The Neurotrophic Electrode from Neural Signals (laid across the penny) is implanted in brain tissue. Detected signals are sent to a transmitter which wirelessly sends the command to a computer.

Cyberkinetics sees its BrainGate system used as a way for paralyzed people to check e-mail, switch a tv channel, control a wheelchair, and one day restore limb function.Imagine a machine that can sense what you think and act on your commands.

Sound scary? Not so for people with paralyzed limbs or debilitating conditions such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease). Machines like this could let them communicate and even move artificial limbs.Many diseases that paralyze people leave their brains unaffected. These people can think about moving or talking but can't because they have problems in their spinal cord, nerves, muscles, or maybe they don't have a limb.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) provide a connection. They record electrical activity in the brain and translate it into real commands such as moving a computer cursor or controlling an electric wheelchair. BCIs, already implanted in humans and animals, have potential to change lives.