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Dr. Daniel Kraft on Brain Computer Interface
Dr. Daniel Kraft on Medicine 2064
Computers: Inputs, Outputs and Form Factors
Ever since the invention of
computers, humans have developed progressively easier and more intuitive
methods to communicate with them. We
have come a long way, from the era of inputting instructions via punch cards and
command line interfaces to the current generation of multi-touch screen devices
that respond to stylus and voice input. Computer outputs have also evolved from
dot matrix printers and cathode ray tubes to thin flat panel displays and
hand-held screen capable of full multimedia experience. Computers are also getting progressively
smaller and more wearable in the form of smart eye wear and smart watches that
are paired with mobile devices carried by the user in the pocket or handbag.
Where will we be in 50 years?
The next big advance in human
computer interface is likely to be "Brain-Computer Interface" (BCI)
or communicating with computers using thoughts. While this may seem to be stuff
for science fiction, sending instructions to computers using thought control is
getting closer to reality. There have
been several instances of early use of this technology with the most famous one
being the opening ceremony of the recent FIFA World Cup in Brazil (1). A young man who was paralyzed from the neck
down was fitted with an exoskeleton that was controlled by a computer on his
back. Just by thinking about it, he was
able to "tell" the computer to move the exoskeleton to allow him to
kick a soccer ball. Even more amazing
was an experiment at the University of Washington where a researcher was able
to control the finger movement of a colleague by transmitting his thoughts over
the Internet (2). Both researchers were
wearing "thinking caps" connected via computers to the Internet. There were no electrodes implanted in their brains i.e. non-invasive BCI.
These are proofs of concept that
this technology can:
1. Allow us to input instructions to computers
using our thoughts.
2. Allow computers to transmit signals to our
brains to move specific body parts.
By 2064 non-invasive BCI technology may have several applications:
Patients with movement
disorders:
There are several diseases where
the person can think clearly but cannot control his or her body movements. Patients with strokes are often left with
weakness of parts of their body. This is
also seen in cases of patients with spinal cord injuries and certain
presentations of conditions like ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and Parkinson's disease. By wearing appropriate types of exoskeletons
or bionic parts that are connected to a computer, their brains would be able to
drive the exoskeletons to perform appropriate movements.
Patients with loss of limb or
parts of a limb:
People can lose body parts from
trauma or due to amputations for cancers or infections. While prosthetic limbs can allow them to
perform movements like walking, most current prosthetics do not allow fine
motor control. It is possible that by the year 2064, brain computer interfaces would allow these prosthetics to
replicate almost natural movements of the hand and fingers.
So far we have talked mostly
about controlling movement or motor control with BCI. This is done by using thoughts to input
instructions into computers. The
converse - having computers output information into the human brain is more
difficult. This is particularly true of
non-invasive BCI - i.e. without implanting electrodes in the brain. Still the University of Washington experiment
described above, showed that this is possible.
Using electrodes implanted in mouse brains, researchers at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology were able to implant false memories into
mice (3). Attempts have been made to send
signals directly from cameras into the brains of blind patients to allow them
to see crude images.
By 2064, invasive BCI may have
several applications:
Patients with sensory deficits
particularly blindness:
Blindness is one of the
afflictions that humans fear the most.
Researchers at Cornell University have had success in mapping signals
from the retina going to the brains in mice via the optic nerve (4). They have been successful in producing quite
realistic images using this method. Over
the next few decades, it should be possible to use this technology to develop
functioning prosthetic eyes. While this
will mean that electrodes are not directly stimulating the visual cortex, it is
still an example of BCI as the retina and optic nerves are considered
extensions of the brain.
Patients with memory deficits:
Caregivers often struggle to help
patients with dementia complete some of the required activities of daily
living. These patients may not have
motor problems like those described above but need help with activities like
getting dressed. It may be possible that
like the University of Washington researchers, caregivers might be able to get
their loved ones perform some simple activities by transmitting their thoughts
using "thinking caps".
As outlined in these examples,
the brain-computer interface has huge potential and with the amount of ongoing
research in this area, we should expect to see some real applications in
medicine by the year 2064.
Links to references cited in this post:
