In pilot trial, paralyzed man operates cursor through brain waves
From: VA Research Currents - August 2006 - page 2

Researchers with Brown University, VA, and other sites reported in the July
13, 2006 issue of Nature on new technology that allowed a 25-year-old
quadriplegic to operate a computer cursor and perform other tasks simply
through his thoughts.  

The system, called "BrainGate," uses a tiny sensor implanted in the primary
motor cortex, the area of the brain that controls movement. The sensor’s
hair-thin electrodes pick up brain signals and send them to an external
decoder that translates them into commands for electronic or robotic devices. 

Still in the early phases of human testing, the technology has been
spearheaded by John Donoghue, PhD, a Brown neuroscientist who became
affiliated with VA when the agency established its Providence-based Center
for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine in 2004. Donoghue is also chief
scientific officer at Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, a company formed
by Brown scientists in 2001 to bring the BrainGate system to market. 

The Nature article details the pilot-trial experience of a 25-year-old man
whose spinal cord was severed when he was stabbed in the neck in 2001.
BrainGate enabled the man to operate a cursor solely through his thoughts,
and thereby perform tasks such as opening email, drawing a circle - albeit
somewhat roughly - on a screen, and adjusting the volume on a television set,
even while carrying on a conversation. The man was also able to open and
close a prosthetic hand and use a robotic arm. 

According to the researchers, the trial produced three main findings, some of
which replicate earlier findings from primate studies: 

1. Electrical movement signals persist in the primary motor cortex even years
   after a spinal cord injury. 

2. These signals can be recorded, routed outside the brain, and decoded into
   command signals. 

3. Paralyzed humans can successfully operate external devices using these
   command signals. 

"What's truly exciting is [that] the cortical activity of a person with
spinal cord injury, controlling a device by intending to move his own hand,
is similar to the brain activity seen during preclinical trials of monkeys
actually using their hands," said lead author Leigh Hochberg, MD, PhD.
"Whether it is real or attempted movement, neurons seem to respond with
similar firing patterns." Hochberg is with VA, Brown, Massachusetts General
Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. 

The trial participant kept the implant nine months, apparently with no ill
effects. "The brain accepted it very well," said Donoghue. "It's removable
and replaceable."  The authors note, however, that the signals from the
implant did decline after nearly seven months of use. 

More research is needed, said Donoghue, to develop a wireless system with a
sensor that can stay in the brain many years, and to refine the software that
decodes users’ brain signals. The ultimate goal, he said, is to "reconnect
brain to limb."  

Read the article at:
http://www1.va.gov/resdev/resources/pubs/docs/va_research_currents_aug_06.pdf

Links:
Brown University Brain Science Program
http://www.brainscience.brown.edu/

John Donoghue
http://www.brainscience.brown.edu/departments/faculty/donoghue.html

BrainGate
http://www.cyberkineticsinc.com/content/medicalproducts/braingate.jsp

Bionic brains become a reality
http://origin.www.nature.com/news/2006/060710/full/060710-8.html

Neuroscience: Converting thoughts into action
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7099/full/442141a.html

Stephen H. Scott
http://anatomy.queensu.ca/faculty/scott.cfm

Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems
http://www.cyberkineticsinc.com/content/index.jsp
http://cyberkinetics.virtual.vps-host.net/content/index.jsp

Cyberkinetics technology
http://www.cyberkineticsinc.com/content/technology/platformtechnology.jsp

Cyberkinetics Braingate Neural Interface System
http://www.cyberkineticsinc.com/content/medicalproducts/braingate.jsp

Controlling Movement through Thought Alone
http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2006-07/06-002.html

Turning thoughts into actions
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7099/edsumm/e060713-01.html
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7099/suppinfo/nature04970.html

BrainGate Trial Shows Promise for Motor Impaired
http://www.sci-info-pages.com/2006/07/braingate-trial-shows-promise-for.html

Thoughts turn to motion for patients with implant
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/07/13/thoughts_turn_to_motion_for_patients_with_implant/

Neuronal ensemble control of prosthetic devices by a human with tetraplegia
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7099/full/nature04970.html

Leigh Hochberg
http://leigh.hochberg.com/