Page 28 - Min Vos MAY 22

TECHNOLOGY A23
Friday 22 May 2015

Paralyzed man uses his thoughts to control a robotic arm

ALICIA CHANG In this March 28, 2014 photo provided by the California Institute of Technology, Erik Sorto uses his mind to control a robotic arm to
AP Science Writer make a smoothie in Pasadena, Calif.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A
man paralyzed by gunshot Associated Press
more than a decade ago
can shake hands, drink handshake and graduat- to smoother motions. rehab center several times before brain-controlled
beer and play “rock, pa- ing to more complicated It’s unclear whether the a week to practice using prosthetics can help para-
per, scissors” by control- tasks. The sensors relayed new approach is better the robotic arm. lyzed people in their daily
ling a robotic arm with his their signals to the arm, by- because no side-by-side Since suffering a gunshot lives.
thoughts, researchers re- passing Sorto’s damaged comparisons have been wound 13 years ago, he Experts said computer pro-
ported. spinal cord. made yet, but it gives re- longed to drink a beer grams must run faster to
Two years ago, doctors in THE DIFFERENCE searchers a potential new without help. The first time interpret brain signals and
California implanted a pair Scientists have long strived target in the brain. he tried with the prosthetic the brain implants must be
of tiny chips into the brain to make robotic arms pro- PAST WORK arm, he was so excited that more durable.
of Erik Sorto that decoded duce movements that are In 2012, a Massachusetts he lost his concentration Currently, wire connections
his thoughts to move the as natural as possible. Pre- woman paralyzed for 15 and caused the arm to spill run from a patient’s brain to
free-standing robotic arm. vious research targeted a years directed a robotic the drink. On the second outside the skull, increasing
The 34-year-old has been region of the brain known arm to pick up a bottle of try, he directed the arm the risk of infections. Future
working with researchers as the motor cortex, which coffee and bring it to her to pick up the bottle and systems need to be wire-
and occupational thera- controls movement. lips. In another instance, a bring it to his mouth where less and contained within
pists to practice and fine- The new work zeroed in quadriplegic man in Penn- he sipped through a straw. the body like pacemakers,
tune his movements. on a different area of the sylvania used a robotic The beer tasted “like a little experts J. Andrew Pruszyn-
It’s the latest attempt at brain — the posterior pa- arm to give a high-five and piece of heaven,” Sorto ski of Western University in
creating mind-controlled rietal cortex — that’s in- stroke his girlfriend’s hand. said. Canada and Jorn Died-
prosthetics to help disabled volved in the planning of SORTO’S STORY THE FUTURE richsen of University Col-
people gain more inde- movements. The hope is Sorto has a caregiver at Despite progress in the last lege London wrote in an
pendence. In the last de- that this strategy will lead home, but he goes to the decade, hurdles remain accompanying editorial.q
cade, several people out-
fitted with brain implants
have used their minds to
control a computer cursor
or steer prosthetic limbs.
Here are some things to
know about the new work,
published Thursday by the
journal Science:
THE STUDY
Doctors at the University
of Southern California im-
planted small chips into
Sorto’s brain during a five-
hour surgery in 2013. The
sensors recorded the elec-
trical activity of about 100
brain cells as Sorto imag-
ined reaching and grasp-
ing. Researchers asked
Sorto to think about what
he wanted to do instead of
breaking down the steps of
the movements, said prin-
cipal investigator Richard
Andersen at the California
Institute of Technology.
After weeks of imagining
movements, Sorto trained
with Caltech scientists and
therapists at Rancho Los
Amigos National Rehabili-
tation Center to move the
robotic arm, starting with a