Study: Researchers Have Developed A Sensor to Control Devices With Thoughts

An American study says that researchers have invented a mobile phone-like sensor to relay signals from specific parts of the brain to aid paralysis patients control devices with their thoughts.

Engineers at the Brown University have developed a wireless, broadband, rechargeable and fully implantable brain sensor that has performed well in animal models for more than a year, according to the Journal of Neural Engineering.

The low-power wireless brain sensor is capable of relaying real-time broadband signals from up to 100 neurons in freely moving subjects.

The initiative is a first in the brain-computer interface field that could help people with severe paralysis control devices with their thoughts, reports Science Daily.

"This has features that are somewhat akin to a mobile phone, except the conversation that is being sent out is the brain talking wirelessly," Arto Nurmikko, professor of engineering at the Brown University, said.

Neuroscientists can use such a device to observe, record, and analyze the signals emitted by scores of neurons in particular parts of the animal model's brain.

In the device, a pill-sized chip of electrodes implanted on the cortex sends signals through uniquely designed electrical connections into the device's laser-welded, hermetically sealed titanium "can".

"The device uses less than 100 milliwatts of power, a key figure of merit," Nurmikko said.

Source: IANS