• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Download full size image

Monkeys Control Robotic Arm With Their Brains

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 May 2008, 17:35 CDT

An exciting new scientific report shows monkeys have been able to control robotic limbs using only their thoughts.

The tests subjects used only brain activity to feed themselves using prosthetic arms.

Scientists inserted small probes the width of a human hair into the monkey’s primary motor cortex—the region of the brain that controls movement.

The researchers hope their work could eventually help amputees and people who are paralyzed.

"We are beginning to understand how the brain works using brain-machine interface technology,” said lead researcher Dr. Andrew Schwartz, who is based at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

"The more we understand about the brain, the better we'll be able to treat a wide range of brain disorders, everything from Parkinson's disease and paralysis to, eventually, Alzheimer's disease and perhaps even mental illness."

Probes inserted into the monkeys' motor cortices allow computer software to interpret the brain's electrical impulses and translate them into movement through the robotic arm.

The arm has joints like a human arm and a “gripper” that mimics a hand.

Two trained monkeys with their arms bound were able to use the prosthetic limbs to feed themselves with marshmallows and chunks of fruit . The movements were fluid and natural, researchers said.

The monkeys were able to continuously change the speed and direction of the arm and the gripper using only their brains, suggesting that the monkeys had come to regard the robotic arm as a part of their own bodies.

There was a 61% success rate during the experiment.

"In our research, we've demonstrated a higher level of precision, skill and learning,” said Dr. Schwarz.

"The monkey learns by first observing the movement, which activates its brain cells as if it was doing it. It's a lot like sports training, where trainers have athletes first imagine that they are performing the movements they desire."

Schwarz believes the research could eventually benefit the development of prosthetic limbs for people with spinal cord injuries or amputees.

"Our immediate goal is to make a prosthetic device for people with total paralysis. Ultimately, our goal is to better understand brain complexity," he said.

"The challenge of interfacing the billions of nerve cells in the brain that control the full range of limb movements directly with a mechanical prosthesis has seemed impossibly difficult,” said Professor Paul M Matthew from the Hammersmith Hospital.

He said the paper confirms that the brain controls movement just by planning where to go, rather than by directing individual muscles how to make the limb get there.

“Fewer than 100 tiny electrical signals generated in the specialized area known as the 'motor cortex' can command even complex arm and hand movements,” he said.

Mathew said this moves the day when patients disabled after spinal cord injuries or amputations can use brain-controlled bionic limbs from the realm of science fiction towards science fact.

---

On the Net:

Watch Video

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Source: redOrbit Staff and Wire Reports

More News in this Category