Brainwave Interface Goes 2D
From: Technology Research News - 02/16/2005
By: Kimberly Patch

MIT and New York State Department of Health researchers have demonstrated a
technique to control the movement of a cursor on a 2D computer screen by
brainwaves monitored through the scalp by electrodes, using funding from the
National Institutes of Health and the James S. McDonnell Foundation. The
breakthrough, which was detailed in the Dec. 6, 2004 edition of the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could allow severely
disabled people to use a cursor as well as make hands-free computer operation
practical. Users of the Noninvasive Brain-Computer Interface can learn to
control the electrical field rhythms that take place near the brain's left
and right sensory motor cortices, which Jonathan Wolpaw of the News York
State Department of Health's Wadsworth Center likens to "the noise a car
engine makes when a car is operating." Critical to the success of this
approach are recent signal processing enhancements and an online algorithm
with built-in adaptability that continuously adjusts to the way a person
controls their brainwave oscillations. Wolpaw explains that training sessions
allow the user to adapt to the interface, and vice-versa. He notes that users
learn the best way to control the direction of the onscreen cursor by
envisioning movements, such as walking or moving a hand. The person first
masters moving the cursor up and down before proceeding to 2D control, and as
users become more skilled they can employ the interface to answer questions,
according to Wolpaw. The researchers are developing a grasp function that
would enable users to move a cursor over an object without choosing it, as
well as facilitate the technique's integration with robot arms; 3D cursor
control is also an area of research. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2005/020905/Brainwave_interface_goes_2D_020905.html

Links:
James S. McDonnell Foundation
http://www.jsmf.org/

A non-invasive brain-computer interface for prosthesis control
http://www.jsmf.org/grants/bmb/essays/2003/wolpaw.htm

Jonathan R. Wolpaw
http://www.wadsworth.org/resnres/bios/wolpaw.htm
http://www.wadsworth.org/new/j_wolpaw.htm

Articles:
Paralyzed use brain waves to move
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2004-12-06-paralyzed-brain-waves_x.htm

'Brainwave' cap controls computer
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4074869.stm

Thinking Cap Lets Users Move
http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2004-12-06-3

Communication Option for the Severely Disabled Improves
http://www.health.state.ny.us/press/releases/2004/wolpaw_release_12-06-2004.htm

Non-invasive brain-computer interface offers more control than once thought
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=6745

Brain Signals From The Paralyzed Or Injured Captured By Computer
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/spacemedicine-03zi.html

Thought control under your hat
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/tech/InnovationRepublish_1260240.htm

Brain wave technology could change lives
http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/003895.php
