Mind Controled Machine

Mind control over the material world has long been the stuff of science fiction. Now, thanks to a chip implanted in the brain, one paralyzed American sportsman is learning how to reach out and touch once again with the help of a robotic arm powered solely 2 by brain waves.

Our reporter Li Dong has the details.

 

For former hockey player Tim Hemmes, it's the little things that he misses most. Like reaching out to make a simple high five - or holding his girlfriend's hand.

Now, for the first time in seven years, Tim is able to do both with the help of a robotic arm that is controlled by his mind. That's thanks to the work of a team of scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Tim's journey here began in 2004, after a motorcycle accident that broke his neck left him paralyzed.

After more than a year in hospital, Tim was able to go home, but was left completely dependent on others for his most basic needs.

"For me to grab a drink, feed myself, open up a door; that just doesn't happen. I'm fully 3 dependent on somebody else."

Building upon a project that first proved successful with monkeys, the team at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is studying whether a tiny computer grid 4 placed on the surface of Tim's brain can help him and other paralyzed patients move and control prosthetic limbs.

The director of the project, Dr. Michael Boninger, explains how the brains of some patients are still able to send out the necessary signals:

"It turns out that in a spinal 5 cord injury, the brain is still intact in some cases. And what studies have shown, is that those parts of the brain that used to control the arm are still there ready to control it. That's all still there - it's really the connection that's lost."

Dr. Boninger says the brain signals that control movement are picked up by a series of tiny electrodes on the implant 1. The signals are then transmitted to a computer that controls the robotic limb:

"You have someone whose got signals in their brain, they're able to imagine moving their arm, and their brain then, the cells in their brain fire. We record the electrical activity with this grid, we then take that electrical activity and we have to do some decoding 6, we have to figure out what it means. And then we use those same signals then to control another device."

First, Tim learned how to control a computer cursor, and then, the robotic arm. He is still in awe 7 of his newfound or rediscovered ability to do things that were once impossible:

"It's a real piece of metal that you're moving with your brain. To be able to do that and to see it and for it to react to what you're thinking about - is absolutely amazing to me."

So far, this is just a study. Controls by the FDA only allow the computer grid to remain on the brain for 30 days.

Although Tim is no longer able to continue with the trials, Tim believes researchers in this area are onto something big.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.