| Mind over Matter
Brain-driven
prostheses move from science fiction to science
Miniaturized
bioelectronic equipment is providing ways for paralyzed people to
communicate better and may eventually lead to wheelchairs and prosthetic
limbs that can be controlled simply by thinking about them.
References:
Birbaumer, N., et
al. 1999. A spelling device for the paralysed. Nature
398(March 25):297.
Chapin, J.K. . .
. and M.A.L. Nicolelis. 1999. Real-time control of a robot arm using
simultaneously recorded neurons in the motor cortex. Nature
Neuroscience 2(July):664.
Fetz, E.E. 1999.
Real-time control of a robotic arm by neuronal ensembles. Nature
Neuroscience 2(July):583.
Further Readings:
Batista, A.P. . .
. R.A. Andersen. 1999. Reach plans in eye-centered coordinates. Science
285(July 9):257.
Bauby, J.-D., and J. Leggatt (Translator). 1997. The Diving Bell
& the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, Inc.
Vaughan, T.M., J.R.
Wolpaw, and E. Donchin. 1996. EEG-based communication: Prospects and
problems. IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering
4(December):425.
More information
about the electrodes used on J.R. and other patients can be found at
Computer Information Systems' Web site at http://www.neuralsignals.com
Sources:
Richard A. Anderson
California Institute of Technology
Division of Biology and the Computation
Neural Systems Program
Mail Code 216-76
Pasadena, CA 91125
Roy A.E. Bakay
Emory University
Department of Neurosurgery
Atlanta, GA 30322
Niels Birbaumer
University of Tübingen
Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology
Gartenstrasse 29
D-72074 Tübingen
Germany
John K. Chapin
MCP Hahnemann School of Medicine
Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy
Philadelphia, PA 19129
Eberhard E. Fetz
University of Washington
School of Medicine
Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Regional Primate Research Center
Seattle, WA 98195
William J. Heetderks
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Repair and Plasticity Department
Neuroscience Center, Room 2207
6001 Executive Boulevard
Bethesda, MD 20892-9525
Miguel A.L. Nicolelis
Duke University Medical Center
Department of Neurobiology
Durham, NC 27710
Richard A. Normann
University of Utah
Joseph Merrill Engineering Building
50 South Central Campus Drive, Room 2480
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
From Science
News, Vol. 156, No. 9, August 28, 1999, p. 142. Copyright © 1999,
Science Service. |