People with aphasia can "speak", and paralyzed patients can direct mechanical ...... through their "minds".In recent years, with the continuous development of brain-computer technology, some scenes that used to exist only in science fiction movies have frequently appeared in our field of vision.
Recently, the scientific research team of Tsinghua University announced two cases, two high paraplegic patients respectively through wireless minimally invasive brain-computer interface to achieve mind control cursor movement, mind control glove exoskeleton holding, one of the patients quadriplegia for 14 years, for the first time to achieve "drinking water with hands".
The paraplegic passes through the mind.
Control cursor movement and grip.
Xiaobai, a 35-year-old paraplegic patient, underwent wireless minimally invasive brain-computer interface implantation surgery in December last year, and after more than two months of training, he has been able to realize mind control cursor movement. According to the doctor, through the brain-computer interface, the nerve signals in the motor area of the brain can be obtained, and then the patient's exercise intention can be reflected through decoding, so as to achieve "mind control activities".
The other patient was Mr. Yang, who had been quadriplegic for 14 years. He underwent implantation surgery in October last year, which is also the first wireless minimally invasive brain-computer implantation surgery in China. At present, Mr. Yang controls the glove exoskeleton through his mind, and partially regains his gripping function, and can reach the designated position of the water bottle or object in an average of 10 seconds.
Not only that, but he was also able to control the robot with his brain signals, and for the first time after being paralyzed, he picked up a water bottle and drank it himself.
Mr. Yang said, "You can hold it while you think about it (holding a water bottle)." Being old and happy helps a lot to improve the quality of life. Mr. Yang's wife was also pleasantly surprised by this, and she looked forward to the advancement of technology, so that Mr. Yang could complete more daily activities independently.
The mind controls the action.
How, exactly?
According to experts, the coin-sized device implanted in Mr. Yang's head integrates a brain-computer interface processor, wireless communication and power supply interfaces, and electrodes used to collect brain waves. The implantation site is located on the outside of the skull, with only the electrodes entering the skull and attaching to the epidural. In addition, the system also includes an information acquisition power supply module, a brainwave decoding and translation module, and a pneumatic glove exoskeleton.
There is a coil inside and outside the patient, and the outer coil can not only be separated from the electricity, but also transmit the brain signal in the patient's brain, realize wireless power supply and wireless communication, and then use the collected signal to command the pneumatic glove exoskeleton.
According to experts, brain-computer interfaces are divided into three categories: non-invasive, invasive, and semi-invasive
The non-invasive brain-computer interface collects brain waves through the scalp, which has the highest safety, but has low signal quality and limited functions; Invasive direct implantation of electrodes into the cerebral cortex yields the highest quality nerve signals, but is highly invasive and risky for patients; The wireless minimally invasive brain-computer interface developed by Tsinghua University is semi-invasive, implanting electrodes into the epidural of the patient's brain without damaging nerve tissue, which can achieve high signal intensity and resolution, while reducing the risk of immune response and nerve cell damage. Brain-computer interfaces have a wide range of applications.
Or it can be used for epilepsy, cognitive impairment, etc.
At present, major countries in the world regard the future as the "era of brain science", and China also launched China's "brain plan" in 2017, in which brain-computer interface is an important part.
Pu Muming, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and academic director of the Center for Excellence in Brain Intelligence of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced that the current application of brain-computer interface is mainly in the medical field, and most of the brain-computer interface clinical trials carried out by scientists around the world are for the functional recovery of high paraplegic patients.
In this clinical trial, in addition to reading information from the brain's motor cortex, the joint team also specially designed a channel to record sensory information in the brain. "Not only does the motor cortex have a record, it also has a record of the sensory cortex that records feedback. ”
When the brain can receive the feedback information of the action, the action thinking will form a complete information loop, which will greatly improve the application effect of brain-computer interface in the field of neuromedicine. Pu Muming introduced: "For example, epilepsy**, stimulation can be stopped after it has an effect, and it is a closed-loop system. ”
Next, the team's goal is to create a universal minimally invasive brain-computer interface platform for more brain diseases such as epilepsy and cognitive impairment through iterative development.
* |CCTV news client.