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Mind-Machine Interface Could Lead to New Life-Changing Technologies for Millions of People
Thursday, July 28, 2011
By: Lee Tune
Lee Tune, University of Maryland
"Brain cap" technology being developed at the
University of Maryland allows users to turn their thoughts into motion.
Associate Professor of Kinesiology Jose 'Pepe' L. Contreras-Vidal and his team
have created a non-invasive, sensor-lined cap with neural interface software
that soon could be used to control computers, robotic prosthetic limbs,
motorized wheelchairs and even digital avatars.
"We are on track to develop, test and make available to the public- within
the next few years - a safe, reliable, noninvasive brain computer interface
that can bring life-changing technology to millions of people whose ability to
move has been diminished due to paralysis, stroke or other injury or
illness," said Contreras-Vidal of the university's School of Public
Health.
The potential and rapid progression of the UMD brain cap technology can be seen
in a host of recent developments, including a just published study in the Journal
of Neurophysiology, new grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and
National Institutes of Health, and a growing list of partners that includes the
University of Maryland School of Medicine, the Veterans Affairs Maryland Health
Care System, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Rice
University and Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Integrated Department of
Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation.
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