A
SEMINAR
ON
BRAINGATE
(neural interface system)
Presented by:
Abhinav Passi
1407020
CSE (A1)
CONTENTS
The Brain Gate - neural interface system
BCI
BCI- Input and Output.
How BCI works
Sensor implantation.
Advantages.
Challenges
Conclusion.
References.
The BrainGate Neural Interface
System
It is a NEURAL INTERFACE SYSTEM.
BrainGate Neural Interface System is the
premiere product of CYBERKINETICS Inc.
For severely disabled people, development of a
brain-computer interface (BCI) could be the
most important technological breakthrough in
decades.
What does it do?
The system has been designed to
restore functionality to severely
motor-impaired individuals, such as
quadriplegics.
What is Brain-Machine Interface?
It is a collaboration in which a brain accepts
and controls a mechanical device as a
natural part of its representation of the body
By reading signals from an array of neurons
and using computer chips and programs to
translate the signals into action, scientists
hope it will be possible for a person
suffering from paralysis to control a
motorized wheelchair or a prosthetic limb by
just thinking about it.
A small wire connects the chip to a pedestal extending
through the scalp
The external system hooks up with the pedestal via fiber
optic cable
Once connected, BrainGate converts the neuron signals into
computer output
Basic Principle is same
The electrodes measure minute differences
in the voltage between neurons. The signal
is then amplified and filtered. In current BCI
systems, it is then interpreted by a computer
program, although you might be familiar with
older analogue encephalographs, which
displayed the signals via pens that
automatically wrote out the patterns on a
continuous sheet of paper.
The product had to be tested
The monkey, our neighbor in the
mammalian kingdom, was chosen as the
One
It Worked!
Using only its mind the monkey was able to control a
cursor on a computer monitor via BrainGate
Since there were no complications
in trials with monkeys
Next Step: Humans!
And it Worked, Again!
By thinking it the 1st patient, a quadriplegic at
the Sargent Rehabilitation Center in Rhode
Island, was able to operate a computer, robotic
limb, and some other environmental controls
Like Monkey, Like Human
Electrical activity of the patient’s neurons was detected
identically like those of the brave monkey before him:
by a tiny sensor chip, similar to the one below,
implanted on the primary motor cortex, the brain’s
movement control center
BCI Input and Output
One of the biggest challenges facing brain-
computer interface researchers today is the basic
mechanics of the interface itself. The easiest and
least invasive method is a set of electrodes -- a
device known as an electroencephalograph
(EEG) -- attached to the scalp. The electrodes can
read brain signals. However, the skull blocks a lot of
the electrical signal, and it distorts what does get
through.
BCI Input and Output(cont.)
To get a higher-resolution signal, scientists can
implant electrodes directly into the gray matter of the
brain itself, or on the surface of the brain, beneath the
skull. This allows for much more direct reception of
electric signals and allows electrode placement in the
specific area of the brain where the appropriate signals
are generated. This approach has many problems,
however. It requires invasive surgery to implant the
electrodes, and devices left in the brain long-term tend
to cause the formation of scar tissue in the gray
matter. This scar tissue ultimately blocks signals.
BrainGate consists of neural signal sensor (consists
of a tiny chip smaller than a baby aspirin with 100
electrode sensors each thinner than a hair that
detect brain cell electrical activity).
BrainGate Sensor Implantation
TM
and Post-Op Recovery as Planned
2 months post implant
Insertion Array
on Cortex
Competitive Advantages.
The Brain Gate Neural Interface System is being designed to
one day allow the user to interface with a computer and/or
other devices at a level of speed, accuracy and precision that
is comparable to, or even faster than, what is possible with the
hands of a non-disabled person.
Its potential to interface with a computer without weeks or
months of training;
Its potential to be used in an interactive environment, where
the user's ability to operate the device is not affected by their
speech, eye movements or ambient noise;
and the ability to provide significantly more usefulness and
utility than other approaches by connecting directly to the part
of the brain that controls hand movement and gestures.
Challenges
The brain is incredibly complex. To say that all thoughts or
actions are the result of simple electric signals in the brain is a
gross understatement. There are about 100 billion neurons in a
human brain. Each neuron is constantly sending and receiving
signals through a complex web of connections. There are
chemical processes involved as well, which EEGs can't pick up
on.
The signal is weak and prone to interference. EEGs measure tiny
voltage potentials. Something as simple as the blinking eyelids of
the subject can generate much stronger signals. Refinements in
EEGs and implants will probably overcome this problem to some
extent in the future, but for now, reading brain signals is like
listening to a bad phone connection. There's lots of static.
Challenges……[Cont.]
The equipment is less than portable. It's far better
than it used to be -- early systems were hardwired
to massive mainframe computers. But some BCIs
still require a wired connection to the equipment,
and those that are wireless require the subject to
carry a computer that can weigh around 10 pounds.
Like all technology, this will surely become lighter
and more wireless in the future.
Conclusion
Brain gate technology has proven to be a
solution not only for the quadriplegics but it
goes far beyond that . It is an early step
towards learning to read signals from an
array of neurons and use computers and
algorithms to translate the signals into
action. That could lead to artificial limbs that
work like the real ones. It has been proved
that people can actually use this system to
switch a television on and off, to control the
volume and to manipulate a prosthetic hand.
References
www.howstuffworks.com
www.ieeexplore.ieee.org
www.google.com
www.ask.com
www.wikipedia.org
www.cyberkineticsinc.com
Thank You!!
Questions…
