Severely paralyzed people with quadriplegia should have a lot of hope these days that their condition will have effective treatment options in the near future. Researchers from University of Tübingen, Germany, The BioRobotics Institute at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Italy, and the Guttmann Institute in Spain, have developed a brain-controlled upper extremity exoskeleton that let six patients with quadriplegia use their own arms with great effect.
The system uses a computer to identify the intentions of the user from brain waves gathered via EEG (electroencephalography) and eye movements via EOG (electrooculography). The system was integrated into a wheelchair so the users were able to get out of the lab and utilize it in everyday situations including dining out in a restaurant.
The participants were even able to grab and munch on crunchy potato chips without turning them into a bunch of crumbs, something many thought to be impossible with non-invasive brain-computer interfaces.
Results of the study were just published in the brand new journal Science Robotics.
Here’s video from the University of Tübingen showing off the new capabilities:
Study in Science Robotics: Hybrid EEG/EOG-based brain/neural hand exoskeleton restores fully independent daily living activities after quadriplegia…
Source: University of Tübingen…