Tuesday, February 25, 2014

it might be best if you left IT alone

2013

Brown University creates first wireless, implanted brain-computer interface*





  •  the transparency of "new" techniques and "new" devices that were released in the press...
    angered Layla most of all..
    she had been there
    a decade and a half ago

    when the the particles called nano sensors
     were delivered into her son's arm...
    still
     she grazed the copy for any hint or clue
    Layla was aghast at the size of the mircro processors being used
    how clumsy
    and out of date
    she was aware of patents and that
    nobody in "the field" would openly
    share
    either methodology or
    functionality
    she felt bad ,almost embarrassed  for the doe eyed students
     photographed
    and strident
    as they had simply created an ungainly rather dysfunctional version of the wheel that had already been perfected
    over 15 years ago

    Researchers at Brown University have succeeded in creating the first wireless, implantable, rechargeable, long-term brain-computer interface. The wireless BCIs have been implanted in pigs and monkeys for over 13 months without issue, and human subjects are next.
    We’ve covered BCIs extensively here on ExtremeTech, but historically they’ve been bulky and tethered to a computer. A tether limits the mobility of the patient, and also the real-world testing that can be performed by the researchers. Brown’s wireless BCI allows the subject to move freely, dramatically increasing the quantity and quality of data that can be gathered — instead of watching what happens when a monkey moves its arm, scientists can now analyze its brain activity during complex activity, such as foraging or social interaction. Obviously, once the wireless implant is approved for human testing, being able to move freely — rather than strapped to a chair in the lab — would be rather empowering.

    Brown’s wireless BCI, fashioned out of hermetically sealed titanium, looks a lot like a pacemaker. (See: Brain pacemaker helps treat Alzheimer’s disease.) Inside there’s a li-ion battery, an inductive (wireless) charging loop, a chip that digitizes the signals from your brain, and an antenna for transmitting those neural spikes to a nearby computer. The BCI is connected to a small chip with 100 electrodes protruding from it, which, in this study, was embedded in the somatosensory cortex or motor cortex. These 100 electrodes produce a lot of data, which the BCI transmits at 24Mbps over the 3.2 and 3.8GHz bands to a receiver that is one meter away. The BCI’s battery takes two hours to charge via wireless inductive charging, and then has enough juice to last for six hours of use.

    One of the features that the Brown researchers seem most excited about is the device’s power consumption, which is just 100 milliwatts. For a device that might eventually find its way into humans, frugal power consumption is a key factor that will enable all-day, highly mobile usage. Amusingly, though, the research paper notes that the wireless charging does cause significant warming of the device, which was “mitigated by liquid cooling the area with chilled water during the recharge process and did not notably affect the animal’s comfort.” Another important factor is that the researchers were able to extract high-quality, “rich” neural signals from the wireless implant — a good indicator that it will also help human neuroscience, if and when the device is approved.
    Moving forward, the wireless BCI is very much a part of BrainGate — the Brown University research group that’s tasked with bringing these neurological technologies to humans. So far, the pinnacle of BrainGate’s work is a robotic arm controlled by a tethered BCI, which paralyzed patients can use to feed themselves (video embedded below). While the wireless BCI isn’t approve for human use (and there’s no indication that they’re seeking approval yet), it was designed specifically so that it should be safe for human use.
    The Brown researchers now intend to develop a different version of the device to help them study the motor cortex of an animal with Parkinson’s disease. They are also working on reducing the device’s size, improving its safety and reliability, and increasing the amount of data it can transmit — for the eventual goal of equipping those with movement disabilities, or elective transhumanists, with a wireless brain-computer interface.

    Now read: MIT discovers the location of memories: Individual neurons
    Research paper: doi:10.1088/1741-2560/10/2/026010 – “An implantable wireless neural interface for recording cortical circuit dynamics in moving primates

    *

    Attn :Denny's Mom

    Dear Mrs Pace, 

     the nano bio sensor  resolves all the problems of the" ubiquitous chip" and the problems of introducing a foreign object into the skull...  by integrating a microfluidic "film"of antibodies ahead of the nanosensor. The now purified chip is now "good to go" and attach itself to the dendrites and synapses in the temporal lobe . The work was performed in the labs of Fahmy Laboratory and at Yale where they have also described a new method for fabricating nanowire sensor and introducing "neural dust' into the nervous system without any needle but with edibles and potables.Another reason to cover your drink in a bar ..hee hee..you are correct that  

    The scientists at Brown describe their work as representing a genuine innovation  in BCI seemingly unaware of obvious progression in the field of Brain Computer Interface and Artificial Intelligence already quite rightly or Quite wrongly being done  "wirelessly".as you know

     .I am still a little concerned that you are  publishing your "cries for help " online  to find those who "played with your son..
    these people care about money
    not individuals
    "It might be best if you left it alone”.. Last I checked, The Bio-Sensory Technology" championed "by Chad Mirkin was being commercialized by Nanosphere Inc . As for integrating microfluidics with the nano particles , a similar  embed process was published by James Heath at Caltech -Good Luck!

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