White House, VA conference highlights new technologies for disabled
From: VA Research Currents - 11/2004 - page 1

A young quadriplegic controls a cursor on a screen solely through his
thoughts. A 72-year-old woman, legally blind since her 30s, reports a new
ability to make out shapes.  

These were among the stunning research results shared by scientists on
October 13th and 14th at a Washington, DC, conference sponsored by VA and the
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The goals of the event
were to highlight advances that promise to dramatically improve the lives of
Americans with disabilities, and explore ways to make the technology more
accessible to consumers.  

The event was titled "Emerging Technologies in Support of the New Freedom
Initiative: Promoting Opportunities for People with Disabilities." The
federal New Freedom Initiative, signed into law in 2001, aims to enable those
with disabilities to take better advantage of technology and to expand their
access to educational, employment and social opportunities.  

"In a sense, VA does for disabled veterans what the New Freedom Initiative
proposes to do for all disabled Americans - remove barriers, develop new
technologies, adapt environments, and do all that can be done to allow [them]
the full opportunity to seek their dreams," said Pat Ryan, staff director of
the Committee on Veterans Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives and
one of the speakers at the event.  

The first day of the conference featured an overview of state-of-the-art
technologies. John P. Donoghue, PhD, a neuroscientist at Brown University,
described the "braingate system" - a tiny sensor implanted under the surface
of the brain in the area that controls arm movement. The sensor picks up the
electrical activity of the brain's neurons. The signals are translated into
commands to control an electronic device, such as a cursor.  

"We've developed computer algorithms that have helped us understand how to
convert patterns of this electrical spiking activity into commands," said
Donoghue, who is also an investigator with VA's new Providence- based Center
for Rebuilding, Regenerating and Restoring Function After Limb Loss.  

Donoghue said neuromotor prostheses make it possible to "couple the brain to
the outside world in paralyzed individuals." He showed a video of a young man
with a C4 spinal cord injury, unable to move his arms or legs, who was able
to move a cursor without the use of any joystick or other mechanical control.  

"He is using neurosignals directly from his brain to control that cursor,"
explained Donoghue. "He is using his thoughts."  

Among the other presenters was Joseph Rizzo, MD, an associate professor of
ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and director of the Center for
Innovative Rehabilitation at the Boston VA. Rizzo described the development
of a microelectronic retina implant that could potentially restore vision in
cases of age-related macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa - both
leading causes of blindness among veterans.  

The system relies on a tiny digital video camera mounted in a pair of
glasses. The images from the camera are sent to an ultra-thin layer of
electrodes implanted in the retina. The electrodes stimulate the retina’s
nerve cells in a pattern resembling the video input, and the image is carried
to the brain via the optic nerve.  

The technology has been tested so far in six humans, including a 72-yearold
blind woman who was able to distinguish cloud shapes based on input from the
device. Rizzo acknowledged that substantial further research is needed before
the system could have clinical applications.  

"It's already taken almost two decades to get where we are. It's going to
take longer to create higher quality vision. So there's a very, very
long-term horizon," said Rizzo.  

Full coverage of the conference, including slide presentations and the
results of breakout sessions on topics ranging from health care to
transportation, will be available within the near future on the website of
VA’s Rehabilitation Research and Development service: http://www.vard.org. 


White House/VA Conference 
Emerging Technologies in Support of the New Freedom Initiative: 
Promoting Opportunities for People with Disabilities
October 13-14, 2004 
http://www.vard.org/whc2004/index.html