A paralyzed man was able to control a robotic arm using a device that relays signals from his brain to a computer.
Although research has seen this before, the big news is that he was able to control the arm — eventually using it to open a cabinet, remove a cup and hold the cup to a water dispenser — for seven months. That’s far longer than the typical day or two such experiments last.
The difference between this study and others before is that the researchers, from the University of California, San Diego, were able to account for day-to-day changes in the brain as the man repeatedly imagined specific movements.
The National Institutes of Health funded the work.
The technology relies on what is called the brain computer interface, or BCI.
Tiny sensors implanted in the main’s brain were used to connect electrical activity when he imagined himself using the arm to a device that decoded the signals for the robotic limb.
One of the researchers had a hunch that the activity in human brains would see the same kinds of day-to-day shifts he noted in animal brains as they learned.
Once the artificial intelligence model was trained to adjust to those slight movements, the robotic arm could be controlled for months at a time, rather than days.
The researchers say they are confident they understand how to build AI models that will let the robotic arm move faster and more smoothly.
Their next step? Testing the system in a home environment.
A 2013 study estimated that more than 5 million Americans live with paralysis. Being able to handle tasks for themselves would be a life-changer.
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