A speech prosthetic developed by a collaborative team of Duke neuroscientists, neurosurgeons, and engineers can translate a person’s brain signals into what they’re trying to say.
Appearing Nov. 6 in the journal Nature Communications, the new technology might one day help people unable to talk due to neurological disorders regain the ability to communicate through a brain-computer interface.
Elon Musk's Neuralink received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its first-in-human clinical trial which has been developing a device surgically inserted into the brain by a robot and capable of decoding brain activity and linking it to computers. Up until now, the company has conducted research only in animals. Read more on why this is a critical milestone for the brain-implant startup.
Artificial intelligence can address some of the challenges and discrimination that people with cognitive diversity and other disabilities face in everyday life. Read more about the issues to overcome when developing assistive technologies.
A system which can translate human brain activity into actions without any physical movement is being developed by a neurotech firm called Cogitat. Read more about the brain-computer interface by Cogitat.
New Caltech research is showing how devices implanted into people’s brains, called brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), can help predict a person’s internal monologue. The technology could be used to assist those affected with speech to effectively communicate. Read more about BMI predicting internal speech.
A participant, paralyzed and unable to speak or type, of the Brain-Computer Interface Restoration of Arm and Voice trial at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) was able to spell out over 1,000 words using a neuroprosthetic device that translates his brain waves into full sentences. Researchers were able to decode him silently miming the 26 letters of the phonetic alphabet. Read more about Brain-Computer Interface Restoration of Arm and Voice trial
A novel brain-computer interface developed by a New York-based company called Synchron was used to help a paralyzed patient send messages using their Apple device. Inserted just into the top of the brain’s motor cortex via blood vessels, the Synchron Switch is the only device that the FDA has approved to undergo clinical trials as a permanently implanted brain-computer interface. Read more about Synchron Switch.
The ATLAS 2030 developed by Marsi-Bionics is a battery-powered gait exoskeleton, which supports from the trunk to the feet and allows children with spinal cord injuries to sit up and walk. The Atlas 2030 exoskeleton earned its creator, Spanish roboticist Elena García Armada, the 2022 European Inventor Award. According to the European Patent Office, it's the "world's first adaptable robotic exoskeleton for children." Read more about ATLAS 2030.
Engineers at Stanford University have created a boot-like robotic exoskeleton that gives users personalized walking assistance, allowing people to walk 9% faster and use 17% less energy per distance traveled. Read more about Robotic Exoskeleton Boots.
Researchers at an EPFL lab have developed an ophthalmological device that can be used to diagnose some degenerative eye disorders long before the onset of the first symptoms. In early clinical trials, the prototype was shown to produce images with a sufficient degree of precision in just five seconds. Read more about new device used to diagnose some degenerative eye disorders
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