Brain-Computer Interface Still Going After 1,000 Days

An anonymous reader writes "Remember BrainGate? The implanted system lets people with paralysis control computer cursors and other devices just by thinking about moving them with their hand. A new report shows that it is still going strong in a patient 1,000 days past her implant."

Comments

First post

[GameboyRMH]

Because I didn't have to use my hands.

oblig.

[Anonymous Coward]

http://xkcd.com/644/

BrainGate, still going strong...

[earls]

Unlike their web server. :p

Re:Bad Summary

[Anrego]

It's a fair summary, but I probably wouldn't have started with "Remember BrainGate?", because I think a large chunk of the slashdot crowd (myself included) has been conditioned to let out a groan and stop reading the second we see the gate suffix applied to anything. Especially when a word like "remember" is shoved in there, because remember tends to reference an event or person.

"BrainGate, an implanted system lets people with.." might have been better for the slashdot crowd.

It's sad that I don't think anything I've said is... insane. This gate suffix garbage has really gotten that bad!

Re:Second post

[donotlizard]

Yeah, but if you can control the cursor by thinking about moving your hand(s), then wouldn't the cursor be in a constant erratic motion?

Quality of life?

[symes]

From the article:

Results across five consecutive days demonstrate that a neural interface system based on an intracortical microelectrode array can provide repeatable, accurate point-and-click control of a computer interface to an individual with tetraplegia 1000 days after implantation of this sensor.

This seems pretty impressive, but what the article does not seem to cover is quality of life issues such devises might impact on. I would imagine the improvement in quality of life to someone with tetraplegia could be huge.

Re:Quality of life?

[CrashandDie]

Not really. My girlfriend takes care of people who suffer of tetraplegia (C1 up to C6), and unless we can use those interfaces to have robots dress them, cook for them, undress them, change their catheter bag, wash them, iron their bedding (to prevent sores), etc, a neural interface would be of pretty limited use.

Sure, it could allow them to communicate, use a computer, or even use the phone / telly, but from what I've seen, few people with such a level of handicap have the drive to do those activities on a regular basis.

Remember that these are people who can't sit up without help we're talking about. Twitter is not one of their priorities, from what I can tell.

Re:Quality of life?

[royallthefourth]

Surely being able to do something as mundane as posting on Slashdot (which this may allow) would raise their level of social interaction a great deal over their baseline, even if it tends to be unsatisfying. Not only that, they could do more like search for ebooks to read, build a playlist of music and start/stop it, or even program a sequencer and synthesizer to play their own music.
Maybe even after reading the right ebooks someone may teach himself to program or do digital art or learn a foreign language and use these skills to find a job that could be done remotely.
There's a lot of things that can be done with just a mouse these days.

It's far from independence and normal interaction, but it's got to be a much bigger set of options than what they've got right now.
On the other hand, it's all just conjecture on my part.

Re:Quality of life?

[HungryHobo]

you really think something like this wouldn't be any use to someone who is totally paralysed?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoRVZgLaXus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnWSah4RD2E

you might not be able to change your underwear but being able to scratch your nose, change the channel or raise/lower their bed would be kinda a big deal when you're totally paralysed.

long term it might even be possible to hook the output of such an interface up to something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYE7eB6fksM

to allow mobility.
or this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYE7eB6fksM

Re:Quality of life?

[thesandtiger]

Being able to make their bed raise/lower, change a channel, turn on/off/up/down the AC, close shades, turn on/off the television/radio, change channels/stations, surf the web, play some games, chat (slowly) with others online, and any number of other uses would be pretty huge I'd think. And easy to connect to a computer. And would lead to big QoL improvements; there's a pretty GIGANTIC difference between being able to do something yourself and needing to ask a caretaker to do it for you.

I've a friend who is severely handicapped (thalidomide) and is 90% confined to a wheel chair as a result. He has little devices his dad made for him that allow him to do some tasks he previously had to ask for help on. We met through a role-playing gamer's group, and when we all brainstormed a way to set him up with a gadget that would let him pick and roll his own dice he was pretty freaking happy about it because it meant he no longer had to ask someone to do it for him.

Hell, even in my own life, and I am fortunately quite able bodied, when I've had times where I wasn't able to do things for myself I would often choose to suffer in silence rather than ask a caretaker to do something for me because I didn't want to bother them. This can be huge.

Re:1000 days

[Vesvvi]

The last time I saw a presentation on brain interface technology was almost a year ago, so I'm not 100% current either, but the current state of the art isn't that great.

The fundamental problem is that the brain/hardware interface breaks down with time. In simple terms, it looks like the extremely soft brain tissue doesn't stand up to being in hard contact with the rigid electrodes (there's a nice picture in the article: they look like meat tenderizers). In the long run, there is formation of a buffer zone of unusable tissue between viable brain matter and the electrodes which blocks the signal. This is an area of substantial research: trying to build nanomaterials that serve as a good physical buffer between the brain and electrode, which is a non-trivial problem. Success in this goal can directly lead to longer-lived devices.

So when they say

no evidence has emerged of any fundamental incompatibility between the sensor and the brain

that's not entirely honest. Yes, their sensor still works fine but they still need to adapt it to be more brain-compatible. My personal guess is that this one patient just happens to have a lucky brain composition/response.

Terrifying.

[GodricL]

Looking at the picture, it looks like that poor S3 has a massive SCSI cable connected to her head. It looks really awkward and uncomfortable. They couldn't use USB? Or Bluetooth? If you wiggle the cable... can she feel the implant shift slightly in her BRAIN?! I'm going to stop, I'm freaking myself out.

Re:Terrifying.

[HeckRuler]

If you think that's terrifying, think about being trapped in your body without being able itch, wipe, or feed yourself.
Yeah, it's probably not the most comfortable, but it's a step up. Kinda like giving a lame person the ability to run again, but only in high heels. You work with what you've got.

Re:Terrifying.

[HikingStick]

Actually, if my understanding of physiology is correct, the brain itself does not have pain receptors. So, while she should be able to feel it on her scalp, she would not be able to feel it moving around inside her head.

Re:Bad Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

This gate suffix garbage has really gotten that bad!

I know. It's time to bring an end to SuffixGate once and for all.