Controlling a cursor with your brain? Yawn. Restoring movement to paralyzed mice? Color us unimpressed. Help a wheelchair-bound man walk again using only his thoughts? Now we're talking. That's the goal of researchers at the University of Michigan who have developed BioBolt, a (comparatively) noninvasive implant that rests on top of the cortex rather than penetrate it. The device is inserted through an easily-covered, dime-sized hole in the skull and feeds patterns from firing neurons to a computer using your epidermis (which is showing, by the way) as a conductor. The ultimate goal of helping the paralyzed walk again is still years away but, in the meantime, it could be used to suppress seizures or diagnose diseases like Parkinson's. Everyday this mind over matter thing sounds a little less like a load of bullpuckey.BioBolt brain implant could help the paralyzed walk again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Technology Review | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/24/biobolt-brain-implant-could-help-the-paralyzed-walk-again/
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