The future of brain-controlled devices

The future of brain-controlled devices: "

In the shimmering fantasy realm of the hit movie 'Avatar,' a
paraplegic Marine leaves his wheelchair behind and finds his feet in a
new virtual world thanks to 'the link,' a sophisticated chamber that
connects his brain to a surrogate alien, via computer.

This type of interface is a classic tool in gee-whiz science fiction. But the hard science behind it is even more wow-inducing.

Researchers
are already using brain-computer interfaces to aid the disabled, treat
diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, and provide therapy for
depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Work is under way on
devices that may eventually let you communicate with friends
telepathically, give you superhuman hearing and vision or even let you
download data directly into your brain, a la 'The Matrix.'

Researchers
are practically giddy over the prospects. 'We don't know what the
limits are yet,' says Melody Moore Jackson, director of Georgia Tech
University's BrainLab.

Adds Emory University neuroscience professor Michael Crutcher, 'Anything can happen.'

At the root of all this technology
is the 3-pound generator we all carry in our head. It produces
electricity at the microvolt level. But the signals are strong enough
to move robots, wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs -- with the help of an
external processor.

Harnessing that power 'opens up a whole
new paradigm for us as human beings,' says neuroscientist Rajesh Rao of
the University of Washington.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCI)
come in two varieties. Noninvasive techniques use electrodes placed on
the scalp to measure electrical activity. Invasive procedures implant
electrodes directly into the brain. In both cases, the devices interact
with a computer to produce a wide variety of applications, ranging from
medical breakthroughs and military-tech advances to futuristic video
games and toys.

Much of the research focuses on
neuroprosthetics, which offer a way for the brain to compensate for
injuries and illness. Jackson helped develop an intelligent wheelchair
called the Aware Chair, which can be guided by neural activity.

She
is also working on communication programs for people who have been
paralyzed by strokes or spinal-cord injuries. Implanted electrodes
allow 'locked in' patients to spell out messages by manipulating a
computer cursor with their thoughts alone.

Rao is tapping into that same concept to help paralyzed people manipulate robots
to fetch items or move things around the house. With cameras to provide
visual feedback, the patients and robots don't even need to be in the
same room, or the same city. Rao says the technology 'frees the mind
from the constraints of the body.'

Cochlear implants are the
most common neuroprosthetic. They help the brain interpret sounds and
are sometimes called 'bionic ears' for the deaf. Other researchers are
looking for similar ways to help blind people see. Neurobiologist Ed
Boyden of MIT says miniature optical devices can be implanted to
convert photoreceptors into workable cameras for the brain.

None
of this comes cheap. Most research is funded by deep pockets such as
the National Institutes of Health, the defense department and NASA.

But
every breakthrough brings the most advanced BCI technologies closer to
the mass market. Jackson says she foresees a day when people with
disabilities can spend a few hundred dollars instead of $20,000 on a
workable system.

Mainstreaming the technology raises some
troubling issues for Crutcher, who teaches a course at Emory in
neuro-ethics. He fears that expensive eye and ear implants could
produce a computer-enhanced elite.

'If only the rich can afford
it, it puts everyone else at a disadvantage,' says Crutcher, who
believes many aspects of BCI are ripe for abuse. Just the idea of
mucking about with a person's brain 'raises questions about safety and
efficacy,' he says.

One of the more controversial uses under
development is telepathy. It would require at least two people to be
implanted with electrodes that send and receive signals back and forth.

DARPA, the Pentagon's technology research division, is
currently working on an initiative called 'Silent Talk,' which would
let soldiers on secret missions communicate with their thoughts alone.
This stealth component is attractive, but naysayers fear that such
soldiers could become manipulated for evil means.

Telepathy implants won't replace Facebook and Twitter anytime soon, but that possibility is problematic as well.

'You
can imagine communicating with your friends through the devices, and
that opens up a lot of ethical issues,' Rao says. Would you want your
friends and family to know everything you are thinking? Would little
white lies become obsolete?

These questions of morality and liability are not a huge factor for the toy makers and video game developers who are already bringing the most basic BCI technology to consumers.

Games
like Mindflex and the Star Wars Force Trainer use headsets with simple
electrodes to monitor levels of concentration and relaxation. The
signals trigger a fan that can move a ball up or down, depending on how
hard you're thinking. Jackson calls it a 'fascinating application of a
very sophisticated technology in a very cheap package.'

The
headsets used in both games were designed by the California company
Neurosky. Its corporate partners are working on games that help
Alzheimer's patients improve memory techniques, teach concentration
skills to kids with ADHD and let stressed- out CEOs work on relaxing.

Software
entrepreneurs and executives are streaming into Boyden's neuro-ventures
class at MIT, looking for ways to capitalize on the array of potential
uses for brain-computer interfaces.

Some ventures are already up
and running. NeuroVigil in California is working on iBrain, designed,
in part, to help provide instant feedback to drivers who start falling
asleep at the wheel. Eos Neuroscience is developing light-sensitive
protein-based sensors that can treat blindness.

Numerous
companies are developing video games based on direct brain-computer
interfacing. Neurosky sells a wireless headset that connects to any
computer for a series of brain-training games. NeuroBoy lets you set
targets on fire just by concentrating on them. Relax, and your
character levitates. Another application lets you see a colorful
visualization of your brain-wave activity.

Boyden expects to see
many more such products hitting shelves sooner rather than later. He
says the possibilities are endless if just a 'fraction of the business
leaders' taking his class start 'bringing the technology into the
world.'

Jackson, of Georgia Tech, agrees: 'Nothing is out of the realm of possibility.'

Source: CNN

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