Wireless neural interface for restoring leg movements

Roberto Saracco November 16, 2016 Blog 122 Views

Over the last 15 years several teams of researchers have worked to sense the electrical signals occurring in the brain as our "mind" directs muscles to contract or relax, others to understand the correlation between electrical signals and intentional movement, others in understanding how electrical signals activates muscles. Progresses have been made in all these areas. 
An international team has published now the results of its work in merging previous results. They have proven that it is possibile to restore the ambulation capability in a monkey with a paralysed limb (a leg) by sensing its intention to move the leg through  a tiny sensor implanted on the cortical cortex of its brain and stimulating the leg’s muscles with electrical signals. The connection between the sensor in the brain and the electrical stimulation of the leg’s muscles is done by a wireless link.
The sensor is composed by an array of 96 probes, each one a sensor in itself, that monitors the electrical activity in the motor cortex area. The spikes are transmitted wirelessly to a computer where a software decodes the spikes patterns, identifying the "intention of movement". This is translated into electrical stimulation by electrodes implanted in the spinal cord of the monkey, below the nerve interruption. 
The researchers have been able to restore the ambulation of the monkey. It is not a perfect gait but it is good enough for the monkey to walk. It would be an amazing progress for a person who has been paralysed as a consequence of a spinal cord trauma. 
We are really getting closer, and we are getting there by integrating software, communications and sensors technologies. It is an example of ICT at its best. 

About Roberto Saracco

Roberto Saracco fell in love with technology and its implications long time ago. His background is in math and computer science. Until April 2017 he led the EIT Digital Italian Node and then was head of the Industrial Doctoral School of EIT Digital up to September 2018. Previously, up to December 2011 he was the Director of the Telecom Italia Future Centre in Venice, looking at the interplay of technology evolution, economics and society. At the turn of the century he led a World Bank-Infodev project to stimulate entrepreneurship in Latin America. He is a senior member of IEEE where he leads the New Initiative Committee and co-chairs the Digital Reality Initiative. He is a member of the IEEE in 2050 Ad Hoc Committee. He teaches a Master course on Technology Forecasting and Market impact at the University of Trento. He has published over 100 papers in journals and magazines and 14 books.

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