Summary of “New prosthetic arm controlled by neural messages” by Investigación y Desarrollo.
Investigación y Desarrollo wrote about the scientists at the Centre for Research and Advanced Studies who have been studying ways to move a prosthetic arm through brain waves. The arm requires messages sent from the brain, not the arm muscles, to tell it how to move. In order for the arm to work normally, it is important for the scientists to access any prior memories associated with the movement of that limb. It can be a difficult task to build this device because there is a lot of brain waves being sent throughout the body. The scientists also have to take into account that the arm has to weigh about what the missing arm would weigh. The scientists have to find patterns linked to the muscles and figure out if it is affected by any external forces. This is amazing progress in the field of prosthetic limbs, but the arm will only work if it was amputated because of illness or accident. This is just the beginning of the possibilities associated with BCI (Brain Computer Interface), a system that establishes a connection between the brain signals and a device (Investigación y Desarrollo, 2014).
It would be an amazing accomplishment if scientists were to figure out a way to move prosthetic arms just by thinking about it. People shouldn't be subjected to the unfairness of chance. If someone were to get a disease, and the best possible outcome was to amputate their arm; while although they would be alive, would they really be living? As I read it, I wondered, why just an arm? Would it be any different to use brain waves to move a leg, or a hand? I really enjoyed reading this article because it made me think of all of the possibilities that it could open up for the people who have been compromising for too long.
Bibliography:
Investigación y Desarrollo. "New prosthetic arm controlled by neural messages." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 August 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140806094704.htm>.
This is fascinating. I really am interested int he part about how it can only work for limbs that have been lost (as opposed to never been formed) since it relies on memories of movement. Muscle memory. Our brains are amazing.
ReplyDelete