23-12-2010, 03:00 PM
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BRAINGATE SYSTEM
A Brain implant system developed by cyberkinetics in the year 2003
Designed to help those who have lost control of their limbs and other bodily functions due to ALS or spinal cord injury.
Computer chip implanted in the brain monitors brain activity and converts the intention of the user into computer commands
DESCRIPTION
Neurons are cells that use a language of electrical impulses to communicate messages from the brain to the rest of the body.
BrainGate can sense, transmit, analyze and apply the language of neurons.
Sensor consists of a silicon array about the size of a baby aspirin that contains one hundred electrodes, each thinner than a human hair.
Brief idea about function of brain and neurons
Brain is the centre of nervous system which is present in the head, protected by the skull.
Brain controls the whole body action and reaction.
Neurons are the responsive cells in the nervous system that processes and transmits information by electrochemical signals.
There are 100 billions neurons available in human body.
NEURONS AND NERVOUS SYSTEM
Neurons are the constituents of nervous system.
Nervous system is linked with brain and controlled by it.
The commands given by the brain are carried by the neurons to different parts.
How does the brain control motor function?
The brain is "hardwired" with connections, which are made by billions of neurons that make electricity whenever they are stimulated.
The electrical patterns are called brain waves. Neurons act like the wires and gates in a computer, gathering and transmitting electrochemical signals over distances as far as several feet.
The brain encodes information not by relying on single neurons, but by spreading it across large populations of neurons, and by rapidly adapting to new circumstances.
Motor neurons carry signals from the central nervous system to the muscles, skin and glands of the body, while sensory neurons carry signals from those outer parts of the body to the central nervous system.
Receptors sense things like chemicals, light, and sound and encode this information into electrochemical signals transmitted by the sensory neurons.
Interneurons tie everything together by connecting the various neurons within the brain and spinal cord. The part of the brain that controls motor skills is located at the ear of the frontal lobe.
Muscles in the body's limbs contain embedded sensors called muscle spindles that measure the length and speed of the muscles as they stretch and contract as you move
Other sensors in the skin respond to stretching and pressure. Even if paralysis or disease damages the part of the brain that processes movement, the brain still makes neural signals. They're just not being sent to the arms, hands and legs.
A technique called neurofeedback uses connecting sensors on the scalp to translate brain waves into information a person can learn from.
The sensors register different frequencies of the signals produced in the brain. These changes in brain wave patterns indicate whether someone is concentrating or suppressing his impulses, or whether he is relaxed or tense.
BrainGate chip
The chip uses 100 hair-thin electrodes that 'hear' neurons firing in specific areas of the brain, for example, the area that controls arm movement.
The activity is translated into electrically charged signals and are then sent and decoded using a program, which can move either a robotic arm or a computer cursor
Braingate chip
Monitors brain activity in the patient and converts the intention of the user into computer commands.
This can be used to control a robot arm or a cursor on a screen.
