Monitoring the proper blood supply to the brain could be used to prevent or even treat neurological diseases. A new technique called πNIRS aims to do just that.
A brain-computer interface array featuring microneedles affixed to a flexible backing allows arrays of micro-scale needles to conform to the contours of the brain.
Connecting the brain with a machine has been a powerful dream of mankind. What used to be science fiction, from the Borg in Star Trek to the Matrix, has become mainstream thanks to Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg who have put their entrepreneurial commitments into the area of neurotechnology. Recently, Professor Surjo R. Soekadar outlined current and upcoming applications of brain-computer…
Someone has a stroke every 40 seconds in the US, resulting in death every 4 minutes. Stroke is the leading cause of disability from a medical condition. When it happens, blood clots or bleeds kill a part of the brain – it goes dark – and can no longer control part of the body. People stop being able to walk, see, talk, or control their hand or arm the way they once did. Although treatments…
Thanks to a four-limb robotic system controlled by brain signals, a patient with a cervical spinal cord injury could walk and control both arms for the first time in a proof of concept. Developed by CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), the system is driven via the long-term implant of a semi-invasive medical device to record brain activity.
A world where machines can be controlled by thought alone – such is the promise of so-called brain-computer interfaces (BCI). BCIs are both hardware and software communication systems that read brain and nerve signals, convert those into electrical signals and translate human thoughts into machine commands. Developers of BCIs rely on artificial intelligence, neural network models and big data…
Biomedical engineers at Columbia Engineering have discovered a new fundamental feature of brain oscillations: they actually move rhythmically across the brain, reflecting patterns of neuronal activity that propagate across the cortex. The coordination of neural activity across widespread brain networks is essential for human cognition. Researchers have long assumed that oscillations in the brain,…
Ethicists from the University of Basel have outlined a new biosecurity framework specific to neurotechnology. While the researchers declare an outright ban of dual-use technology ethically unjustified, they call for regulations aimed at protecting the mental privacy and integrity of humans. The journal Neuron has published the study. The term “dual-use” refers to technology that can be used…
University of Adelaide researchers have shown that it is possible for stroke patients to improve motor function using special training involving connecting brain signals with a computer.
Bill Kochevar is the first recipient of implanted brain-recording and muscle-stimulating systems reanimates limb that had been stilled for eight years.
Medicine as a profession has held a superior aloofness for many centuries, wary of losing its unique distinctiveness and esteem if ‘tainted’ with other professions.
Researchers at Canada's largest children's rehabilitation hospital have developed a technique that uses infrared light brain imaging to decode preference — with the goal of ultimately opening the world of choice to children who can't speak or move. Using optical brain imaging, the scientists decode preference with 80 per cent accuracy.