As part of NeuroAbilities' efforts to explore user perspectives, this article from The Washington Post outlines the challenges and nuances many families face in navigating care for a person who is paralyzed. Read more via The Washington Post.
Caring Full Time for a Partner with Paralysis: User Stories from The Washington Post
September 27, 2021
Blackrock & B-CRATOS Project Developing Battery-free, Wireless Implants
September 21, 2021
Blackrock Microsystems Europe is partnering with Uppsala University, The SiNANO Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, LINKS, Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and the Department of Electronic Systems in creation of the project known as B-CRATOS – “Wireless Brain-Connect inteRfAce TO machineS”. The B-CRATOS project is coordinated by Uppsala University's Prof. Robin Augustine and seeks to restore functionality through advanced, next-generation neuroprostheses. The system will enable those with paralysis to control an advanced robotic limb, enabling millions to regain daily independence. Learn more about the project here.
IpsiHand Breakthrough Device Utilizes Dry EEG Headset from Wearable Sensing
September 10, 2021
Neurolutions recently received FDA "breakthrough" status for its IpsiHand device that enables a person who may be paralyzed from stroke to move some parts of their arm and hand. The system features a dry EEG electrode headset from Wearable Sensing, where one of NeuroAbilities' Advisory Council Members, Walid Soussou, leads a team of neuroscientists and engineers in developing wireless headsets for BCI systems. For more on the headset and its applications, check out Wearable Sensing's webinar here. For more on the Ipsihand device, check out the Neurolutions website here.
Australian Professor Creates Epilepsy Device to Predict Seizures
September 2, 2021
Professor Mark Cook of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia has designed a device that can monitor and predict seizures for end users who experience epilepsy. The Epi-Minder is implanted on the inside of the scalp and constantly monitors brain activity. Learn more here.
Researchers Evoke Tactile Feeling Through Brain Implant
August 25, 2021
Researchers at Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research have successfully stimulated the deep grooves of the primary somatosensory cortex which has allowed a perceived sense of touch to two end users experiencing intractable epilepsy. The research could be applied to restoring a sense of touch to persons experiencing paralysis, spinal cord injury, diabetes mellitus, or neuropathic pain. The deeper and more difficult-to-reach area was stimulated using stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) depth electrodes. Learn more here.
University Engineers Design Low-Cost Neuroprosthetic for Tactile Feedback
August 17, 2021
Engineers at MIT and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have designed and tested a low-cost, inflatable version of a neuroprosthetic for persons with upper limb disability that provides tactile feedback and has restored some primitive sensation in a volunteer’s residual limb. Read more via Engineering & Technology.
Researchers Take Step Toward Next-Generation Brain-Computer Interface System
August 13, 2021
A team of researchers has taken a key step toward a new concept for a future BCI system — one that employs a coordinated network of independent, wireless microscale neural sensors known as 'neurograins', each about the size of a grain of salt, to record and stimulate brain activity. Read more via Neuroscience News.
Retinal Prostheses & Wearables for Persons with Disabilities
August 12, 2021
In this article, the applied technology areas of digital haptics, sound for spatial awareness, and retinal prostheses are explored for end users experiencing vision loss or blindness. The retinal implant explored in this article would stimulate the optic nerve for the end user to perceive images at roughly 625 pixels, which would allow an end user who may be blind to experience some level of facial recognition. Learn more from IEEE here.
Turning Thoughts About Handwriting into Text
August 12, 2021
Researchers and an end user experiencing paralysis successfully translated neural activity from attempting to handwrite letters into text for the end user to write messages at a similar rate to others the same age that do not experience paralysis. This enabled the end user to create independent and accurate text messages that would enable communication via smartphones and computers. Learn more here.
Using Brain Data for Wireless Control of External Devices for Persons with Paralysis
August 9, 2021
Synchron's Stentrode(TM) device is a minimally-invasive neuroprosthesis that captures brain activity for controlling external digital devices for persons experiencing paralysis. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration cleared the device for clinical trials in the U.S. The device has been shown to enable end users in Australia who are paralyzed to text, email, and shop online using only their neural activity, in effect restoring many daily tasks for their independence. Learn more about this implantable breakthrough device here.