Latest in medical technology!!!

So this is an ethics of technology class and even though I'm not a huge fan of alot of the technological advances that have been made available today, I am however a huge fan and advocate of alot of the new advances made in medical technology. Yet again I was reading this really interesting and inspirational article about a new microchip that they can implant in the brain that will allow people who have lost use in one or both arms control robotic arms just by using their brains!

Jan scheuermann has no use of her arms and is unable to feed herself, but she has gotten better at picking up a chocolate bar with her robotic arm :) She's become the first to demonstrate that people with a long history of quadriplegia can successfully manipulate a mind-controlled robot arm with seven axes of movement. Earlier experiments had shown that robot arms work with brain implants. This was a huge accomplishment for Jan because this was the first time in 9 years that she had been able to pick up any objects. The research developement that links Jan to her prosthetic arm is known as Brain Computer Interface or BCI for short. It took Jan less than a year to be able to pick up a chocolate bar with the arm, after which she declared, "One small nibble for a woman, one giant bite for BCI."




This is a spectacular leap toward greater function and independence for people who are unable to move their own arms," senior investigator Andrew Schwartz of the University of Pittsburgh's Pitt School of Medicine said in a release. "This technology, which interprets brain signals to guide a robot arm, has enormous potential that we are continuing to explore. Our study has shown us that it is technically feasible to restore ability; the participants have told us that BCI gives them hope for the future."
Jan's brain was implanted with two quarter-inch square electrode grids. They have 96 tiny contact points for brain areas that control right arm and hand movement.
The electrodes pick up neurons firing to activate arm movement. Within a week of surgery, she could reach in and out, left and right, and up and down with her robot arm.




"This is the ride of my life," Jan was quoted as saying. "This is the roller coaster. This is skydiving. It's just fabulous, and I'm enjoying every second of it."



If you would like to see a video of jan using her robotic arm to get a better grasp on what this new technology really offers to disabled peoples like her, i've pasted the url below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVhJuwfNTC4&feature=player_embedded