May 16, 2012 01:57pm ETBrain-Controlled Robotic Arm Points Way to New Prosthetics Credit: Nature View full size image

In April 2011, a paralyzed woman named Cathy Hutchinson lifted a cup for the first time in nearly 15 years, using a robotic arm controlled by her thoughts.

Hutchinson was paralyzed when she suffered a stroke that damaged her brain, cutting her motor functions off from the rest of her body. She was left unable to speak or move. For her and other tetraplegics — people who have lost the use of their arms and legs — hundreds of small tasks are beyond their reach. Amputees run into similar problems, as they currently have to use ungainly prosthetics.

A project called BrainGate2 might get us closer to the day when prosthetic or robotic arms could give people their limbs back. It's the first clinical trial of a brain-controlled robotic limb in humans, according to John Donoghue, a neuroscientist at Brown University and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Donoghue is one of the lead investigators in the trial, whose results are being published in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.

"The No. 1 desire of many patients is getting back the arm movement," Donoghue said.

The BrainGate project is a collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs, Brown University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which designed the robot arm.

Some newer prosthetics use minute motions from the stump of an arm, while others reroute nerve endings. And there is ongoing research into noninvasive methods of reading brain impulses. Some success with implants has been reported in monkeys, and for people who cannot walk, there are exoskeletons.

The BrainGate, however, is connected directly to the human motor cortex, a stretch of cerebral real estate that runs in a strip from the top of the head toward the cheekbone. A tiny array of 96 electrodes is attached to the part of the motor cortex that controls the arm. Those electrodes send signals through a cable to a computer. The computer decodes the signal into specific movements executed by the robot arm.

The system isn't yet practical for everyday use — a cable is attached to the patient's head and the computer that processes the signals is still the size of a dorm room refrigerator. Donoghue said the goal is to shrink the processing computer enough so that it is implantable, or at least wearable.

Another goal is giving the electrodes wireless connectivity, and creating a power source that can last for years, similar to that of a pacemaker. Eventually, Donoghue and his colleagues also want to build a robotic arm that can be attached like a prosthetic for people who have lost limbs.

There are still areas that need to be perfected, such as the controls for the interface. When Hutchinson directed the arm to lift the cup of coffee, she didn't have to direct every movement, only the lateral and grasping motion.

Leigh Hochberg, the lead author on the Nature paper, said during a press conference that one of the questions was, "how much of the smarts of the system do you build into the arm?"

Hochberg, a neuroengineer and critical care neurologist, noted that in natural movement, one doesn't think about every individual motion; much of it is unconscious. In this case, the scientists wanted to accomplish something similar.

Hutchinson is one of two participants in a trial administered by Massachusetts General Hospital. (The other participant is a man identified as Robert, who was also paralyzed by a stroke). Both reported that moving the robotic arms wasn't difficult to do, and didn't require much more concentration than using one's "natural" arms, though using the machine did require some training.

The BrainGate project had its first success with humans in 2006, when a patient named Matt Nagle, who was paralyzed after being stabbed, was able to demonstrate controlling a computer's mouse cursor using the first iteration of the BrainGate system.

Donoghue and Hochberg said it will still be years before this device is available to patients and is affordable – it must still be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

This story was provided by InnovationNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow InnovationNewsDaily on Twitter @News_Innovation, or on Facebook.

用意念控制机械手臂

2012年5月16号下午1点57 ETBrain控制的机械臂方式分给新Prosthetics 贷：自然查看原图

2011年4月，一个名为凯蒂哈钦森瘫痪女子搬起杯第一次在近15年来，利用机械臂通过她的想法.

哈钦森控制就瘫痪了，当她遭受了中风破坏她的大脑，从她的身体的其余部分切割她的运动功能关闭。她留给不能说话或移动。对于她和其他四肢瘫痪＆mdash;人谁失去了使用他们的胳膊和腿＆mdash的;数以百计的小任务都无法达到的。截肢者碰到类似的问题，因为他们目前使用的难看假肢.

称为BrainGate2的项目可能会得到我们更接近一天假体或机械臂可以给人们四肢回来。这是在人类大脑控制的机械手肢的第一期临床试验，根据约翰·多诺霍，神经学家在布朗大学和退伍军人事务部。多诺霍在试验，其结果被发表在本周和rsquo的领先研究者之一; S号的Nature杂志.

＆QUOT的; 1号的欲望很多患者被找回的手臂运动，＆QUOT;多诺霍说.

的BrainGate项目是退伍军人事务部的布朗大学的系，马萨诸塞州总医院，哈佛医学院和德国航空航天中心（DLR）之间的合作，其设计的机器人手臂.

一些较新的假肢使用分钟从手臂残端运动，而另一些人重新路由神经末梢。还有就是正在研究中读取大脑的冲动无创性的方法。一些成功植入物已经报道在猴子和人谁不能行走，

的BrainGate，但是，是直接连接到所述人的运动皮层中，由伸缩性的脑房地产从运行在一条有外骨骼.

头向颧骨上方。 96电极A微小阵列连接至运动皮层，其控制臂的一部分。这些电极通过电缆发送信号到计算机。计算机解码信号转换成由所述机器人臂执行的特定动作.

该系统是尚未实用日常使用＆mdash;一电缆连接到病人的头部和其处理的信号中的计算机仍然是一个宿舍冰箱的尺寸。多诺霍说，目标是缩小处理计算机足够，以便它是植入，或至少可佩戴.

另一个目标是给该电极的无线连接，并且建立一个电源，该电源可以持续数年，相似的心脏起搏器的。最终，多诺霍和他的同事也想建立一个机械臂，可以附加像假的谁失去四肢的人.

现在还有一些需要完善的地方，如该接口的控制区域。当哈钦森执导的手臂举起一杯咖啡，她没有直接每一个动作，只有横向和掌握运动.

利霍赫贝格，对自然论文的主要作者，在新闻发布会上说，一个说问题是，＆QUOT;多少系统的智慧的你打造成为臂QUOT;？

霍赫贝格，一个neuroengineer和重症监护神经学家指出，在自然的运动，一个不考虑每个人的议案;其中很大一部分是无意识的。在这种情况下，科学家们想要完成类似的东西.

哈钦森是由马萨诸塞州总医院给予试用两个参与者之一。 （其他参与者被确定为罗伯特，谁也瘫痪中风的男人）。这两个报道，移动机器人手臂是不难做到，并没有要求更多的浓度比使用自己的＆QUOT;自然＆QUOT;武器，虽然使用的机器也需要一些训练.

的BrainGate项目有它的第一次成功与人类在2006年，当时名为马特·内格尔病人，谁是被刺伤后瘫痪，能够证明控制使用计算机的鼠标光标在BrainGate系统的第一次迭代.

多诺霍和霍赫贝格说，它仍然是几年该设备可用于患者治疗前，是负担得起的＆ndash的;它仍然必须由美国食品和药物管理局.

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