Just watched a segment on 60 Minutes that was pretty interesting. It involved neural interfaces and the possible applications it will make available for those confined to wheelchairs. Cathy Hutchinson has an interface (Braingate) implanted into her brain, which is hard wired into her PC. It "reads her mind" and allows her to fully control her PC & even drive a wheelchair.
They have used another one of these implants on a monkey. Within two days the monkey was using a robotic arm to feed itself, controlling it as naturally as it would it's own apendage, but strictly using his mind.
They also believe they can bypass spinal cord injuries, using cable to transfer signals to muscle groups. They have found that even though a person is paralyzed, when they think of moving their arm those synapses still fire even though there is no arm movement.
Got a few links for the story & technology, inclduing one that is available for gaming platforms at $300:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/braingate_1.jpg
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories...utes/main4560940.shtml
http://www.wadsworth.org/bci/index.html
http://www.cyberkineticsinc.co...products/braingate.jsp
http://www.emotiv.com/corporate/2_0/2_2.htm
They have used another one of these implants on a monkey. Within two days the monkey was using a robotic arm to feed itself, controlling it as naturally as it would it's own apendage, but strictly using his mind.
They also believe they can bypass spinal cord injuries, using cable to transfer signals to muscle groups. They have found that even though a person is paralyzed, when they think of moving their arm those synapses still fire even though there is no arm movement.
Got a few links for the story & technology, inclduing one that is available for gaming platforms at $300:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/braingate_1.jpg
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories...utes/main4560940.shtml
http://www.wadsworth.org/bci/index.html
http://www.cyberkineticsinc.co...products/braingate.jsp
http://www.emotiv.com/corporate/2_0/2_2.htm
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