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May 29, 2008 9:20 am US/Central
Monkeys Move Robotic Arms With Their Minds
Promising Technology For Paralyzed People
(CBS)
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The scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine implanted tiny electrodes in the area of monkeys' brains where voluntary movement originates as electrical impulses.
CBS
Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have taught a pair of monkeys how to feed themselves with the aid of a robotic arm. What's more amazing, the arm is controlled by the monkeys' brainpower.
It's a scientific marvel that could have tremendous potential for disabled humans: a monkey using a robotic arm to eat a marshmallow.
CBS Early Show anchor Maggie Rodriguez spoke with Dr. Andrew Schwartz, the scientist in charge of the experiment.
"The monkeys have their arms gently restrained by their sides," he said, explaining how the robotic arms function. "The shoulder is mounted right next to the monkey's own shoulder and the whole machine has the same kinds of movements as a natural arm would."
The process works like this. Every time neurons fire, they emit a slight pulse of electricity. A tiny electrode implanted in the monkey's brain picks up the current, which is in turn amplified and sent to a special computer that interprets the information and moves the robotic arm.
"So there's an array of electrodes, but they're very small - it's about half the size of a thumbtack," said Dr. Schwartz, "and they're put on the very outside of the brain and then hopefully in the next two years we'll have telemetry, so these signals will be transmitted wirelessly to an external device."
So far, the experiment has only been tested successfully on monkeys. However, the potential impact has groups like the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation optimistic.
In a statement, a spokesperson said, "these advancements in technology continue to fuel hope in our mission to find cures and treatments for the paralysis community."
"We're hoping we can do something very similar to this is the next two years with humans," said Schwartz.
"There will be a training portion of what we do, but it should be fairly simple for these people to learn how to use. We hope it will be just days, but as time goes on, they'll just get better and better at it."
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