A Better Way To Make Mind-Controlled Prosthetic Limbs

the_newsbeagle writes: To make a brain-machine interface, you need a way to capture neurons' electric signals. The most precise and most invasive way uses implants that are stuck in the gray matter. The least precise and least invasive way uses EEG sensors stuck to the scalp. But researchers at Johns Hopkins University say there's a third way that gets the best of both worlds, which is not too invasive and fairly precise. They use ECoG systems, in which a mesh of electrodes is placed under the skull, draped over the surface of the cortex.

They're testing their systems on epilepsy patients, who have these ECoG systems inserted anyway while they're waiting for surgery (the electrodes record the source of their seizures). The researchers are capturing these patients' movement commands from their brains, and using them to control robotic limbs. Someday such a system could be used by amputees to control their prosthetic limbs.

Comments

Re:Not too invasive?

[i kan reed]

I'm going to guess, though I could just be acting like an insensitive clod, that you've never had to deal with the debilitation of a missing limb. I feel like it's going to be a pretty appealing option to a lot of people.

And as far as "invasive surgery" goes, amputations are pretty much top of that category too.

Re:Not too invasive?

[JoeDuncan]

The difference being that the ECoG system appears to simply lay the electrode mesh on top of your cortex, traditional direct neural links involve actually puncturing and penetrating neural tissue with many tiny pins.

Neurons aren't just in the brain

[king neckbeard]

There are also neurons in the rest of the body. Assuming these are replacement limbs instead of supplementary limbs, why wouldn't they intercae with the neurons the body was previously using to do those communications, e.g., control a replacement hand by connecting it to the neurons in the wrist?