It is not so much ‘I think therefore I am’, but ‘I think therefore I move’.
Researchers have developed a ‘brain cap’ which lets stroke patients move parts of their body using just the power of their mind.
The team tracked the brain signals of healthy people as they walked along then used the data to ‘retrain’ the minds of those who were unable to move on their own.
They say it can help people who have suffered a stroke, been paralysed or those who have muscle wasting diseases to walk once again.
All in the mind: University of Maryland student Harsha Agashe wears the 'brain cap', a non-invasive, sensor-lined piece of headwear that scientists claim lets stroke patients move parts of their body using just the power of thought
Getting patients moving gives them a new found freedom but it also helps combat other health problems like obesity and diabetes, the researchers said.
They also hope the technology could help such people move other limbs they are unable to like their hands.
The breakthrough was part of an ongoing project by the University of Maryland (UMD).
More...
- How a stranger can now be identified in just THREE SECONDS by facial recognition... along with their social security number
- Did you see this coming? The 'mind-reading' technology that will help drivers to brake in time
Unlike other non-invasive techniques it does not require much training and is the first to achieve results on a par with patients who have had electrodes implanted into their brains.
Patients wear a cap which is wired with hundreds of sensors and it connected up to the lab computers which monitor their brain waves.
By scanning a healthy person undertaking a number of activities such as walking over an object or just strolling along, they know how the brain should ‘think’ when doing so.
No comments:
Post a Comment