It's a good news for those suffering from spinal cord paralysis. Northwestern University scientists have developed a brain-computer interface that can successfully replace the functions of spinal cord and help people once again use their previously paralyzed limbs in daily life. Supported by National Institutes of Health in this pursuit, the invention gives a ray of hope to about 130000 people who sustain spinal cord injuries every year with about 50 percent of them getting completely paralyzed below neck. Scientists performed a number of tests to check the effectiveness of the technique. Surprisingly, it improved the grasping precision significantly and allowed voluntary adjustment of force and strength.
The study was conducted on a rhesus monkey whose arm was temporarily paralyzed with an anesthetic. It comprises of the brain-computer interface, which is wired directly into 10o neurons in motor cortex along with a functional electrical stimulation (FES) device, which is wired into subject's paralyzed body part ( subject's arm in this case). As soon as the monkey tried to move his hand the neurons get activated, which in turn send data to the brain-computer interface. The interface predicts, which muscles to move with what force and passes this information to FES. FES activates the desired body part and this gives the required movement.
Currently, the system can perform only basic body movements such as lifting arm, opening hand etc. The movements in human body are much more complex and according to scientists they need to go through the process of motor learning to be able to use the device.