ApplySci - Deep Tech Health + Neurotech

Caltech and Keck researchers implanted neuroprosthetics in a part of the brain that controls the intent to move, with the goal of producing more natural and fluid motions.   The study, published in Science, was led by Richard Andersen.  A quadriplegic implanted with the device was able to perform a fluid handshaking gesture and  play “rock, paper, scissors” using a separate robotic arm.

Andersen  and colleagues improved the versatility of movement that a neuroprosthetic can offer by recording signals from  the PPC brain region.  He said: “The PPC is earlier in the pathway (than the motor-cortex, a target of earlier neuroprosthetics,) so signals there are more related to movement planning—what you actually intend to do—rather than the details of the movement execution.  We hoped that the signals from the PPC would be easier for the patients to use, ultimately making the movement process more intuitive. Our future studies will investigate ways to combine the detailed motor cortex signals with more cognitive PPC signals to take advantage of each area’s specializations.”

WEARABLE TECH + DIGITAL HEALTH NYC 2015 – JUNE 30 @ NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.  REGISTER HERE.

Ossur‘s sensor implant allows amputees to control  bionic prosthetic limbs with their minds.  Myoelectric sensors are surgically placed in residual muscle tissue.  Prosthetic movement is triggered via a receiver.

Ossur’s existing “smart limbs”  are capable of real-time learning and automatically adjust to a user’s gait, speed and terrain.   However,  conscious thought is still required.

According to Thorvaldur Ingvarsson, the company’s R&D lead, “the (implant) technology allows the user’s experience with their prosthesis to become more intuitive and integrative. The result is the instantaneous physical movement of the prosthesis however the amputee intended. They no longer need to think about their movements because their unconscious reflexes are automatically converted into myoelectric impulses that control their Bionic prosthesis.”

WEARABLE TECH + DIGITAL HEALTH NYC 2015 – JUNE 30 @ NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.  REGISTER HERE.

Washington University‘s Daniel Moran has received a DARPA grant to test a device that would stimulate nerves in the upper arm and forearm of prosthetic users.  The goal is for the wearer to be able to feel hot, cold, and a sense of touch.  In a related development last year, MC10‘s Roozbeh Ghaffari developed artificial skin for prosthetics that mimics the sensitivity of real skin.  Its silicon and gold sensors detect pressure, moisture, heat and cold (see ApplySci, 12/30/14).

Moran’s electrode is designed to stimulate sensory nerve cells in the ulnar and median nerves in the arms. The ulnar nerve is the largest  in the body unprotected by muscle or bone and is connected to the ring finger and pinkie finger on the hand. The median nerve in the upper arm and shoulder is connected to the other fingers on the hand. Together, the two nerves control movement and sensations including touch, pressure, vibration, heat, cold and pain in all of the fingers.

This novel  macro-sieve peripheral nerve interface is designed to stimulate regeneration of the ulnar and median nerves to transmit information back into the central nervous system.

The device is in an early stage, and will only be implanted in non-human primates at this time.

WEARABLE TECH + DIGITAL HEALTH NYC 2015 – JUNE 30 @ NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.  

EARLY REGISTRATION RATE ENDS TODAY, 5/15/15.