Neuroengineering From: IEEE Pulse - 09/25/2017 https://pulse.embs.org/september-2017 Cross-Disciplinary Medical Advances with Neuroengineering From: IEEE Pulse - 09/25/2017 By: Sherif Elbasiouny Challenges spur development of unique rehabilitative and therapeutic interventions. Neuroengineering brings tools and techniques from the engineering fields into neuroscience to create new approaches for investigating the central nervous system (CNS). This fusion of disciplines is advancing our knowledge of how the CNS works and how we can enhance our natural cognitive and emotional function and restore neurological functions that are compromised by disease or injury. This article highlights a few areas where neuroengineering is making unique and valuable contributions. Read the entire article at: https://pulse.embs.org/september-2017/cross-disciplinary-medical-advances-neuroengineering --- On the Verge of Neuro-Motion From: IEEE Pulse - 09/25/2017 By: Cynthia Weber Chad Bouton and his team are developing breakthrough neural decoding methods that help people with paralysis move again. Chad Bouton, director of the Center for Bioelectronic Medicine and vice president of advanced engineering at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, which serves as the research arm of one of the largest health systems in the United States, has spent nearly two decades developing innovative medical technology and products that help diagnose and treat conditions including cancer, stroke, diabetes, and paralysis. Last year, in a groundbreaking effort, Bouton and his colleagues published their findings in Nature on neural-decoding methods that helped Ian Burkhart become the first paralyzed person with a brain implant to move again with his own thoughts. Read the entire article at: https://pulse.embs.org/september-2017/verge-neuro-motion --- Reading Minds From: IEEE Pulse - 09/25/2017 By: Leslie Mertz Brain-decoding scientists move closer to discovering the keys to unlock the brain. When you see or think about an object, your brain engages in a unique pattern of activity tied specifically to that object. That's how you know a cat is a cat, and not a dog or a house or a cloud. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and other techniques, scientists are not only able to measure those activity patterns but are also deciphering what each pattern means. Essentially, they are beginning to read minds. That doesn’t mean we all have to start wearing aluminumfoil hats to keep our thoughts to ourselves, but it does mean that scientists are creating an increasingly better instruction manual for the brain and its amazing processing capabilities. Such a manual can then be used to begin developing a brain– computer interface device that may help someone with a motor dysfunction to operate an exoskeleton for mobility or devising a system that can bypass a blind person’s nonfunctional eyes and transmit images directly to the brain for translation into sight. It may also aid in the evolution of devices that permit faster and better recovery from stroke and other brain injuries or technologies for earlier diagnosis of such neural disorders as autism. Read the entire article at: https://pulse.embs.org/september-2017/reading-minds --- From Brain to Body From: IEEE Pulse - 09/24/2017 By: Mary Bates New technologies improve paralyzed patients’ quality of life. Paralysis, whether caused by spinal cord injury, neurodegenerative disease, or other factors, poses a host of issues for patients. These include not just the inability to move parts of their bodies but potential problems with communication and bladder control as well. Fortunately, the last decade has seen promising technology advances to address these concerns. Although most are still in the research stage, these technologies - including brain–computer interfaces (BCIs), exoskeletons, and robotics - may one day improve the lives of people with paralysis. Read the entire article at: https://pulse.embs.org/september-2017/from-brain-to-body --- Digital Magnifying Glasses for Low-Vision Learners From: IEEE Pulse - 09/25/2017 By: Nevan C. Hanumara, Jaya Narain and Amos Winter Bringing assistive technologies to the developing world. A student squinting to see the board or holding a textbook inches from his or her nose often provides the first indication of a visual impairment. For most, the cause is a refractive error, readily correctible with eyeglasses. However, for an estimated 40-65 million people globally with functional low vision, the fuzzy words pose a lifelong challenge. Read the entire article at: https://pulse.embs.org/september-2017/digital-magnifying-glasses-low-vision-learners --- Other articles: Realizing a Clearer View From: IEEE Pulse - 09/22/2017 By: David Chandler New augmented reality systems provide medical students with a surgeon's sight. Read the entire article at: https://pulse.embs.org/september-2017/realizing-clearer-view --- Roach Biobots From: IEEE Pulse - 09/25/2017 By: Tahmid Latif and Alper Bozkurt Toward reliability and optimization of control. Read the entire article at: https://pulse.embs.org/september-2017/roach-biobots --- Fertile Ground From: IEEE Pulse - 09/21/2017 By: Jennifer Berglund Work at MIT's Center for Gynepathology Research is revealing how tissue engineering can help address gynecological disorders. Read the entire article at: https://pulse.embs.org/september-2017/fertile-ground