• Home
  • About
  • Service Dept
  • Online Store
  • PC Systems
  • EMAIL LIST
  • PC Recycling
  • Blog
  • Instagram
  • Photos
  • Idaho Tech News
  • Virtual Reality
  • CISCO MERAKI
  • AMD RYZEN
  • INTEL 8TH GENERATION
  • IDrive Online Backup
  • ADOBE CREATIVE CLOUD
  • Nord VPN
  • Kaspersky AntiVirus
  • ESET Antivirus
  • Symantec Secure One
  • Angel CAM
  • Home
  • About
  • Service Dept
  • Online Store
  • PC Systems
  • EMAIL LIST
  • PC Recycling
  • Blog
  • Instagram
  • Photos
  • Idaho Tech News
  • Virtual Reality
  • CISCO MERAKI
  • AMD RYZEN
  • INTEL 8TH GENERATION
  • IDrive Online Backup
  • ADOBE CREATIVE CLOUD
  • Nord VPN
  • Kaspersky AntiVirus
  • ESET Antivirus
  • Symantec Secure One
  • Angel CAM
Picture

Paralyzed ALS patient operates speech computer with her mind

11/16/2016

0 Comments

 
A brain implant has been placed in a patient enabling her to operate a speech computer with her mind. The researchers and the patient worked intensively to get the settings right. She can now communicate at home with her family and caregivers via the implant. That a patient can use this technique at home is unique in the world.

At UMC Utrecht, a brain implant has been placed in a patient enabling her to operate a speech computer with her mind. The researchers and the patient worked intensively to get the settings right. She can now communicate at home with her family and caregivers via the implant. That a patient can use this technique at home is unique in the world. This research was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Because she suffers from ALS disease, the patient is no longer able to move and speak. Doctors placed electrodes in her brain, and the electrodes pick up brain activity. This enables her to wirelessly control a speech computer that she now uses at home.
"This is a major breakthrough in achieving autonomous communication among severely paralyzed patients whose paralysis is caused by either ALS, a cerebral hemorrhage or trauma," says Professor Nick Ramsey, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht. "In effect, this patient has had a kind of remote control placed in her head, which enables her to operate a speech computer without the use of her muscles."
Mouse click
The patient operates the speech computer by moving her fingers in her mind. This changes the brain signal under the electrodes. That change is converted into a mouse click. On a screen in front of her she can see the alphabet, plus some additional functions such as deleting a letter or word and selecting words based on the letters she has already spelled. The letters on the screen light up one by one. She selects a letter by influencing the mouse click at the right moment with her brain. That way she can compose words, letter by letter, which are then spoken by the speech computer. This technique is comparable to actuating a speech computer via a push-button (with a muscle that can still function, for example, in the neck or hand). So now, if a patient lacks muscle activity, a brain signal can be used instead.
Wireless
The patient underwent surgery during which electrodes were placed on her brain through tiny holes in her skull. A small transmitter was then placed in her body below her collarbone. This transmitter receives the signals from the electrodes via subcutaneous wires, amplifies them and transmits them wirelessly. The mouse click is calculated from these signals, actuating the speech computer. The patient is closely supervised. Shortly after the operation, she started on a journey of discovery together with the researchers to find the right settings for the device and the perfect way to get her brain activity under control. It started with a "simple" game to practice the art of clicking. Once she mastered clicking, she focused on the speech computer. She can now use the speech computer without the help of the research team.
The UMC Utrecht Brain Center has spent many years researching the possibility of controlling a computer by means of electrodes that capture brain activity. Working with a speech computer driven by brain signals measured with a bathing cap with electrodes has long been tested in various research laboratories. That a patient can use the technique at home, through invisible, implanted electrodes, is unique in the world.

Read more here: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161114112955.htm


0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    RJM

    Archives

    April 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

We Build Custom PC Systems

Desktop and Workstations with Two-year Hardware Warranties

for CAD - Gaming - Business - Home

4524 Overland Road Boise, ID 83705 (208)-472-2800    sales@rjmpc.com

RJM Computers in Boise, Idaho has been in business for over 30 years!  If you are in the Boise area and need custom computers, computer parts, and expert computer repair, we are your one-stop shop for all your computer needs.  We are the oldest and largest independent computer store in Boise.  All of our custom computer systems built right here in Boise feature a two-year hardware warranty!  If you are in Boise and need computer repair, our experienced technicians can give you fast friendly service!  No hidden charges with our flat rate repair service.  Remember, there's ONLY ONE RJM Computers in Boise - accept no substitutes!  Stop in at 4524 Overland Road (next to the Reel Theatres in the Country Club Plaza, Boise or call 472-2800.

  • Home
  • About
  • Service Dept
  • Online Store
  • PC Systems
  • EMAIL LIST
  • PC Recycling
  • Blog
  • Instagram
  • Photos
  • Idaho Tech News
  • Virtual Reality
  • CISCO MERAKI
  • AMD RYZEN
  • INTEL 8TH GENERATION
  • IDrive Online Backup
  • ADOBE CREATIVE CLOUD
  • Nord VPN
  • Kaspersky AntiVirus
  • ESET Antivirus
  • Symantec Secure One
  • Angel CAM
✕