Matters of life and limb
A giant leap toward the “bionic”
In the last Daily Dose, I wrote about the possible future of robotic “humans.” One very likely facet of that rapidly developing technology is prosthetics that can be controlled by the mind.
Such things have long been the stuff of fiction. References to the development of this technology abound in popular culture. Remember the “bionic” protagonists of The Six Million Dollar Man TV series and its spin-off, The Bionic Woman? How about Luke Skywalker’s mechanical replacement hand from the Star Wars movies? Well, despite its presence in these and in countless other science-fiction movies and shows, the mind-body synergy between man and machine has so far existed only on screen
Until now.
According to a recent article in the UK Daily News, a 25-year-old American man paralyzed in an accident five years ago can now use e-mail, operate a TV, and move objects with a robotic arm – controlled only by his thoughts!
Heretofore, paralysis patients involved in bionics experiments have been able only to “move” virtual objects with their minds – things like cursors, shapes or symbols on a computer screen. And although scientists acknowledge that the movement of attached limbs may still be decades or longer away, this development still represents a quantum leap in the science of brain/computer interface, and a ray of hope for paralysis victims or amputees yearning for a greater measure of autonomy.
How’s it work, you’re asking? An aspirin-sized sensor with 100 tiny, hair-thin electrode filaments is implanted on the surface of the brain – the filaments extending to various cranial zones, where they penetrate a short distance into the brain, picking up electrical signals from neurons that control various motor functions. These electrodes link via gold wires to a titanium post that protrudes about an inch above the scalp. This post, in turn, connects to a computer
And somehow, this gadgetry actually “reads” thoughts (or rather, electrical impulses) and translates them into actions virtual or physical. Operation of the system is not automatic, but rather is learned by the individual recipients, and is thus limited by those recipients’ “learning curve.”
According to the article, the young man featured in the Daily Mail piece picked up the system’s simpler operations in mere MINUTES. Needless to say, this is all very encouraging for paralysis patients. Mind-boggling and surreal, but encouraging.
