Tuesday, May 25, 2021
As we learn more about the human brain, we can begin to wonder if the rest of the body is necessary. Improved brain-machine interfaces are showing us how much can be accomplished by tapping directly into our thoughts.
While brainwaves can be read and interpreted through electrodes placed on the scalp, this method lacks the spatial detail of implanted electrodes. The recent action in practical thought-to-action science has taken place with direct physical connections.
For example, last summer brain researchers in Australia and the U.S. showed promising results by mounting electrodes on an expandable stent and threading it through blood vessels that lead to the brain. The sensors in the stent could sense when people’s brains signaled an intention to move, the sensors wirelessly sent this information to a computer which interpreted the signals. The interface allowed ALS patients to combine use of an eye tracker to move a cursor plus a thought-cont