Brain Chip Approved For Paralysis Research

dalillama writes "The BBC is reporting that tests are underway for the clinical trials of the "Brain Gate" computer chip, placed in the brains of paralysis patients. They hope the chips will map out nerve impulses which are sent to limbs, so that they can then be translated into computer code and sent to future artificial limbs. " Thanks to Robert Brooks for pointing out this closely related piece.

Comments

Reboot Feature

[tadmas]

I wonder if they are going to have some kind of "reboot" feature in case the hardware starts failing or the software goes haywire. (Insert standard Windows BSOD joke here.) Seriously, though, I'd hate to see somebody's limbs just start moving erratically and without any control. That would be a nightmare.

I don't know how they would actually implement such a feature, but it just seems kinda dangerous to me without it.

Follow the money

[pr0t0plasm]

When Cyberkinetics was a lab at Brown University, I design an amplifier array for the wireless implant mentioned in the article. The medical possibilities for the research are really pretty interesting, especially once the next generation probe is done. The trouble is that the medical possibilities are icing, and the cake is a control system for the exoskeleton of the soldier of the future... that's right, another fine DARPA technology.