More than a decade ago, Erik Sorto, 34, was paralyzed after a gunshot wound to the neck. Now, using a robotic arm that he controls with his brain, he can pick up a drink and bring it to his lips in one smooth motion.
But unlike other experimental robotic arms, this one relies on signals sent from a device implanted in Mr. Sorto’s posterior parietal cortex — a part of the brain that plans and imagines activities.
Neural prosthetic devices are generally implanted in the motor cortex, the part of the brain responsible for executing movements. The robotic arms work, but in delayed, jerky movements.
The new device results in motion that is more natural and fluid, researchers reported on Thursday in the journal Science.
“We decode the imagined movement, and the limb executes it,” said Richard Andersen, a neuroscientist at the California Institute of Technology.
The arm was developed by a team of researchers and doctors from the California Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California and Rancho Los Amigos Rehabilitation Center in Downey, Calif.
Now the researchers want to implant similar devices in the sensory cortexes of patients’ brains, with the hopes of simulating a touch sensation in paralyzed patients.
“When the robot touches an object, it will provide a feedback signal to the patient,” Dr. Andersen said. That information may allow patients to manipulate objects using the robotic arm with more dexterity.
- http://bit.ly/1HxtaP1
Niciun comentariu:
Trimiteți un comentariu