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