Invasive BCI Allow Paralyzed to Feel Objects

A pair of patients wearing a BCI was able to control a bionic arm and feel tactile edges, shapes, and curvatures along its fingers. For the study, the participants had BCIs implanted in the sensor and motor region of their brains responsible for hand and arm movement. The researchers were able to record and then decode all the patterns of electrical activity associated with the patient’s hand movement.

The patients were then asked to engage in a series of complex experiments controlling a nearby bionic arm to see if they could distinguish minute subtle changes occurring across its surface. They reported feelings and sensations like edges, curves, and directions moving across the hand. Researchers had to encode signals that would be associated with touch sensations and then send that to the patient’s brain.

More information:

https://www.popsci.com/technology/brain-implant-touch/

Prosthetic Hand Device Gives Thermal Feedback

Researchers have created a device that allows people with amputations to experience such natural temperature sensations using their prostheses. The team created the MiniTouch in which a temperature sensor was placed on someone’s prosthetic hand at the location the phantom thermal sensations seemed to arise from. When the sensor detected a change in temperature away from a baseline of 32C, it sent a signal to a temperature controller. This relayed the information to another component that was mounted on the upper part of the prosthesis and touched the skin of the arm.

The temperature that had been detected by the sensor was then reproduced on the arm at the trigger location for the phantom sensations. The device reproduced temperatures from 20C to 40C. The upshot is that the person perceived a thermal sensation in their missing hand, at the location of the temperature sensor. To test the MiniTouch, the researchers fitted it to the prosthesis of a 57-year-old whose right arm was amputated below the elbow. The team found when using the device Fabrizio could discriminate between identical-looking bottles containing cold, hot, or room-temperature water, with 100% accuracy.

More information:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/feb/09/prosthetic-limb-device-enables-users-to-sense-temperature-difference

Mind Reading with AI Through Meta

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has made a groundbreaking development in BCIs. They have unveiled an AI system that can decode visual representations and even hear what someone is hearing by studying their brainwaves. These advancements in BCI technology have the potential to transform our relationship with artificial intelligence and its potential applications in healthcare, communication, and VR. The system utilizes magnetoencephalography (MEG), a non-invasive neuroimaging technique.

By capturing thousands of brain activity measurements per second, Meta’s AI consists of three key components: an image encoder, a brain encoder, and an image decoder. This approach allows the AI to develop a set of image representations, match MEG signals to these representations, and generate an image based on the brain’s responses. Although this technology is a remarkable advancement, researchers acknowledge the need for precision improvements, particularly in generating specific details.

More information:

https://medium.com/@affiliatemoneymaster2023/meta-just-achieved-mind-reading-with-ai-a-breakthrough-in-brain-computer-interface-technology-98cf7deb6858