Archive for June, 2009
Using a computer these days is necessary for almost any sort of skilled labor. As a writer, if I find myself without my hands (say due to RSI), I’m paralyzed without being able to type. Natural language is light years away from being anything close to usable for intensive work. However, recently research has focused more on being able to control a computer using just brainwaves.
In many ways, controlling a computer using brainwaves is a more promising field of development than trying to control an actual mechanical device such as an arm. With the former, you need less research and hardware costs and once the basic principles are in place, the technique can be extended to controlling anything.
The latest research comes from Rhode Island where a group of researchers are working on a system called “Braingate” which consists of placing an implant into a subject’s brain and interpreting those signals to perform some activity. To summarize the goals neatly, it’s “Turning thought into action.” The pilot clinical trials were started on the 4th of June and are expected to be a breakthrough in neurotechnology.
Keep tuned to this blog for more as we continue to cover the latest developments as and when they happen in this exciting and ever changing field.
The words “Internet Addiction” have been bandied about for quite some time now. However, it hasn’t yet found a place in the prestigious Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) which lays down extensive criteria for various mental disorders.
But a team in Korea has found that Internet addicts have different brain responses from those who do not, laying down the physical foundations for the formal classification of Internet Addication as a mental disorder. The research was still limited to a small test group however – something that the team intends to correct. There are also some who contest the implications of the findings.
The test was performed using the infamous “World of Warcraft” series which has garnered a lot of publicity over it’s addictive properties. Whether or not psychologists wish to place the addiction on par with other addictions such as coccaine, is another matter. The problem arises when beginning to discuss whether or not Internet disorders are merely manifestations of previously existing conditions which need to be identified. This is similar to food addiction.
Researchers say that if they can consistently uncover the reward pathways in the brain relating to Internet disorder, that would be the clinching argument since such pathways are the hallmark of other more tangible addictions.
The aim of prosthetics is to minimize the impact on the life of a person who has lost a limb. Upper prosthetics like arms interact with the muscles to perform functions like gripping. However, till now there have been limitations to what sort of objects can be gripped with smaller objects slipping through the hand.
Hangar Prosthetics based in Raleigh, North Carolina has developed a device called the “i-Limb” which can “pinch” items and allow more control. Bill Limehouse demonstrates as he makes the iLimb grip a ball and shows how it wraps around an object. The iLimb has 5 pinching movements (one for each finger) and this allows more sophisticated functionality. In addition, the iLimb can be rotated manually so that the prosthetic can find the best angle to grip, or to push buttons like on an ATM.
This isn’t some science lab technology. It’s available on the market at a current cost of $18,000. According to data, not all insurance companies cover it – but some certainly do. We know for a fact that Medicare does not.
Artificial limbs are a long way from becoming like the artificial hand of Luke Skywalker, but as they grow more and more functional, who knows?