BBC NEWS
<http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/printer_friendly/news_logo.gif> 
Brain sensor allows mind-control 
A sensor implanted in a paralysed man's brain has enabled him to control objects
through just the power thought. 
 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5167938.stm>  

The experimental set-up allowed the man, who has no limb movement at all, to
open e-mail, play a computer game, and pinch a prosthetic hand's fingers. 


The US team behind the sensor hopes its technology can one day be incorporated
into the body to restore the movement of paralysed limbs themselves. 


The group's study is published in the journal Nature. 


	It's just wild 
Matthew Nagle 	

Matthew Nagle, 25 at the time of the trial, was left paralysed from the neck
down and confined to a wheelchair after a knife attack in 2001. He was the first
patient to try out the brain sensor. 


A team of scientists inserted the device, called a neuromotor prosthesis (NMP),
into an area of the brain known as the motor cortex, which is responsible for
voluntary movement. 


The NMP comprises an internal sensor that detects brain cell activity, and
external processors that convert the activity into signals that can be
recognised by a computer. 


Although the patient's spinal cord had been severed for three years by the time
of the trial, the scientists found that brain cell activity - or neural firing
patterns - persisted in the patient's motor cortex. 


The electrodes in the NMP were able to record this activity and send it to a
computer. The computer then translated the firing patterns into movement
commands which could drive computer controls or artificial limbs. 


Regained independence 


Using the device, Mr Nagle was able to move a computer cursor to open an e-mail,
play simple computer games, open and close a prosthetic hand, and use a robot
limb to grasp and move objects. He could do this simply by using his thoughts. 


Mr Nagle said the sensor had restored some of his independence by allowing him
to carry out a number of tasks - such as turning the lights on - that a nurse
would normally do for him. 


He told the BBC: "I can't put it into words. It's just wild." 


Lead researcher Dr Leigh Hochberg, a neurologist at the Massachusetts General
Hospital, said: "One of the exciting results from the trial is that this part of
the brain, the motor cortex, could still be activated voluntarily by this
gentleman with spinal cord injury. 


"The fact that this activity was still there, despite the injury that had
occurred several years ago, is very encouraging for our potential ability to
harness those signals to control an external device." 


Co-author Professor John Donoghue is director of the brain science programme at
Brown University and chief scientific officer of Cyberkinetics, the company that
created and trialled the sensor. 


He said: "The results hold promise to one day being able to activate limb
muscles with these brain signals, effectively restoring brain-to-muscle control
via a physical nervous system." 


The team also looked at a second, 55-year-old patient, but said technical issues
meant the sensor could not record brain activity. 

Professor Stephen Scott, from Queen's University, Ontario, Canada, said in a
related article: "This research suggests that implanted prosthetics are a viable
approach for assisting severely impaired individuals to communicate and interact
with the environment." 


But he warned that considerable problems needed to be overcome before this
technology could be put into regular use. 


He said problems such as the device's longevity, infection risks, and data
transfer methods needed to be looked at. 


Tested too early? 


Professor Igor Aleksander, an expert in neural systems engineering at Imperial
College London, UK, said: "I think this is enormously important stuff because
there is real potential for helping people that have had severe neural
disabilities." 


But Professor Miguel Nicolelis, a neurobiologist from Duke University, was
critical of the research. 


He told the BBC's Science in Action programme that although some positive signs
had been seen for one patient, the paper showed that the technology did not work
in the second, older patient. 


He said: "When you decide, like this company did, to go into clinical trials for
an invasive technique the stakes are very high. 


"They should have demonstrated something that lasts for a long period of time,
that it is reliable and safe, and that it can restore much more elaborate
functions. I don't think that this paper shows that. 


"I think it was too early to use this kind of technology in this kind of
clinical trial." 


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/5167938.stm

Published: 2006/07/12 17:00:09 GMT

C BBC MMVI
http://www.cyberkineticsinc.com/content/index.jsp

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