At the University of Minnesota, Professor Bin He leads the Biomedical Functional Imaging and Neuroengineering Laboratory. Their work all involves a brain computer interface, a cap with many electrodes that monitor brain activity. One of their projects that has been going on for years is the development of a way to control helicopters in 3D space. A few years ago, they developed a way to do this on a computer simulator, but recently they were able to achieve this with small helicopters in real life. The hope is that this will lead to the ability for people to control prosthetic limbs as if they are real ones.
I had the privilege of going to this lab on the 13th and meeting with Professor He and his Ph.D. students to find out more about their lab and what it means to be a biomedical engineer. Each of his students is working on their own experiment involving the electrode cap. I was able to see the set up of an experiment about the brain's response to pain. I also spoke to one of his students who was a part of the earlier experiments with the helicopter as an undergrad before going on to his Ph.D. work.
One of the themes of science that I observed was the role of curiosity. Professor He wanted to work with helicopters because it would be more fun to work on that for years before developing it into something that could be used in the medical field. Another is the role of cooperation and teamwork. He is rarely a part of the actual data collection anymore. His students are more responsible for that then he analyzes it along with them.
If they can fly a helicopter with the electrode cap, they must be really close to being able to control prosthetic limbs. Will amputees have to wear hats all the time? It would be really cool to do one of these experiments.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been really cool to go see the experiment at the U and see how it works! Like you said, they are so close to being able to control a helicopter with an electrode cap, they might be able to use some sort of variation of this to use in prosthetics. This would be very cool if they actually connected this to prosthetics because it would help so many people and make their lives so much easier. But, there is much more this could apply to. It is unbelievable how scientist are connecting technology to the human body. My last blog was on how brain signals can help paralyzed people express words through computer systems, and it was amazing how they did it with the advancement of technology. This is a very interesting article and i hope that this will one day be beneficial to people!
ReplyDeleteI find it so interesting how you were blessed with the opportunity of getting to see Ph.D. students working towards something so monumental! This reminds me of a time in honors pre-calc when our teacher showed us a video about how there are prosthetic limbs available that can be controlled by using your brain. This whole concept can be revolutionary! It can help people who have lost the ability to move their limbs, people born with defective/missing limbs, and possibly even veterans who had lost limbs in combat. This is only the first step in combining technology with the human brain! Theres an infinite amount of possibilities!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-10/andrew-schwartz-brain-control-for-artificial-limbs
There is a brain sensor device that relays brain signals, sort of like a cell phone that transmits brain signals. The device is the smallest yet of its kind, and can be recharged and fully implanted. This device has opened up many new possibilities for brain-technology interfaces, not the least of which is the possibility of controlling your own prosthetic limbs.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228093829.htm