Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh have been awarded funding for projects that will place brain-computer interfaces in patients with spinal cord injuries to test the possibility of them to controlling external devices through their thoughts, according to a UPMC news release.
The project is part of ongoing research conducted on epilepsy patients who have interfaces temporarily placed in their brains and were able to move cursors and play computer games. The devices were also implanted in monkeys, who were able to use a robotic arm to feed themselves and turn a doorknob.
The $800,000 research grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow the researchers to place the BCI on the motor cortex surface of the spinal cord injury patient's brain for up to 29 days. The neural activity picked up by the BCI can be translated through a computer processor, allowing the patient to control computer cursors, virtual hands, computer games and assistive devices like prosthetic hands or a wheel chair.
Read the UPMC news release about research for patients with spinal cord injury.
Read other coverage on UPMC:
- UPMC Researchers Study Correlation Between ACL Repair Surgery and Knee Arthritis
- UPMC Sports Medicine Physician Discusses Sports-Related Concussions
The project is part of ongoing research conducted on epilepsy patients who have interfaces temporarily placed in their brains and were able to move cursors and play computer games. The devices were also implanted in monkeys, who were able to use a robotic arm to feed themselves and turn a doorknob.
The $800,000 research grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow the researchers to place the BCI on the motor cortex surface of the spinal cord injury patient's brain for up to 29 days. The neural activity picked up by the BCI can be translated through a computer processor, allowing the patient to control computer cursors, virtual hands, computer games and assistive devices like prosthetic hands or a wheel chair.
Read the UPMC news release about research for patients with spinal cord injury.
Read other coverage on UPMC:
- UPMC Researchers Study Correlation Between ACL Repair Surgery and Knee Arthritis
- UPMC Sports Medicine Physician Discusses Sports-Related Concussions