“If you could have any superpower, what would it be?”
This question was presented to me multiple times as an adolescent (and even now); mainly because I’m a science geek who enjoys the company of other nerds. Anyway, I suppose invisibility or X-ray vision could be pretty fun (for obvious reasons), but my usual response was “telekinesis.” Yes, the ability to move things with just a thought. It turns out that I am very close to having this power.
The BrainGate Neural Interface System, marketed by Cyberkinetics and developed in collaboration with Brown University, offers a technology that can translate a person’s thought into action. The development of this system has taken more than 20 years to complete and began with experiments in monkeys. According to the Cyberkinetics Web site, the primary goal of this research is to improve the functionality of those who have lost the ability to move their arms and legs. The ultimate prize would fully restore the use of their arms and legs.
In a healthy person, a simple task like opening a textbook to study requires complex signaling pathways in the brain to work. An area of the brain called the motor cortex is involved in the planning and execution of voluntary movement. So when you think of opening a book, the motor cortex sends a signal from the top of your brain down your spinal cord to your arms and instructs them to open the book (or fold together to form a nice pillow for your head). Unfortunately, the motor cortex doesn’t help with the actual studying part. Patients who are paralyzed, however, cannot perform this task because their electrical signals do not reach their extremities.
To circumvent this problem, a microchip was created that could collect the brain’s commands. The microchip is about the size of a 50-cent piece and is implanted inside the brain at the area of the motor cortex. A neurosurgeon can perform this task in about 2.5 hours by craniotomy, where a small flap of bone is opened to expose the brain. After the procedure is over, the only visible part is a small sensor atop the head.
According to the Cyberkinetics Web site, the process works like this: When a person thinks of moving an arm or a leg, brain cells fire in the motor cortex. The implanted chip collects this information and transmits it to a sensor on top of the head. The sensor is connected by a cable to several computers that interpret this information and send a final signal to an output device such as a prosthetic hand, which can open and close.
Yet, the cleverest and most useful application of this device is its use as a computer mouse. The incoming signals can be translated to a cursor arrow on a computer screen, and with just a thought, the person can move the arrow to different spots on the screen. The arrow can also be used to choose different boxes on the screen. And you can imagine the number of possibilities that exist when these boxes are connected to a specific function in the user’s environment. You could activate the TV, turn on the lights and answer the telephone just by thinking about it.
In July 2004, Matthew Nagle, a high school football player who had been paralyzed after a knife-stabbing, became one of the first people to receive such an implant. His description of the device: “I can’t put it into words. It’s just — I use my brain. I just thought it. I said, ‘Cursor go up to the top right.’ And it did, and now I can control it all over the screen. It will give me a sense of independence.” Some of the functions Nagle was able to perform with the chip implanted in his head were checking email and controlling a TV. The device was removed from his brain after one year per FDA protocol.
One of the major limitations of the brain-computer interface is that it is not yet wireless, but the Cyberkinetics team is working on it now. The hope is that this technology could eventually restore function to the person’s own extremities by a connection from the brain directly to muscle.
Ashok is a University Medical student. He can be reached at atholpady@cavalierdaily.com.
Read More
U.Va. students and physicians team up for another year of free kidney screenings
By Merrill Hart | November 5, 2024Saturday’s screening marked the first by KDSAP at Portico Church, near IX Art Park.
U.Va. Health sees a spike in COVID-19 cases
By Emily Horn | September 4, 2023U.Va. Health ended their vaccination requirements in August, and masks were made optional in most hospital areas in early April.
U.Va. Cancer Center harnesses $12 million grant to support opportunities for undergraduates, ongoing research and new center
By Ellen Wu | January 12, 2023The grant provides an opportunity to establish the Center for Systems Analysis of Stress-Adapted Cancer Organelles, which seeks to find the cause of cancer in individual organelles.
