Neuro-engineering

Changes in older people’s central nervous system leads to compromised ability to sense movement

The central nervous system of older individuals responds to movement and initiates muscular contraction differently compared to young individuals. This is the result of a study led by researcher Simon Walker at the University of … READ MORE

Finding one’s way home

The Otic placode gives rise to the inner ear in vertebrates. A new study shows that even when it is transplanted to ectopic positions, the nerve cells that grow out of the transplanted ear can form functional connections in the brain. … READ MORE

New wearable sensor for people with incomplete paraplegia

A new electromyography biofeedback device that is wearable and connects to novel smartphone games may offer people with incomplete paraplegia a more affordable, self-controllable therapy to enhance their recovery, according to a new … READ MORE

Artificial muscle power for children with cerebral palsy

Research team receives start-up funding to develop first-of-its-kind motorized medical brace. University of Delaware researchers are developing a medical device to help children with cerebral palsy. The device includes a novel … READ MORE

Spinal stimulation enables three people with paraplegia to walk again

Combined with other recent studies, new evidence points to electrical stimulation as a promising treatment for paralysis. David, 28, who suffered a spinal cord injury, can walk (with a walker) for more than 1 kilometer with electrical … READ MORE

First language study using new generation of wearable brain scanner

Scientists have carried out the first study of human cognition using a new generation of brain scanner that can be worn like a helmet. This marks an important step forward in the translation of their new technique from the laboratory … READ MORE

Tomorrow’s doctors must be engineers too

The medical profession is changing, and so must medical education. When King Li went to medical school 40 years ago, he sometimes felt like he was trying to memorize the human body. “I’d see these curves in the textbook, and have … READ MORE

Mind-controlled robotic third arm gives new meaning to “multitasking”

Need a helping hand? Tell this robotic arm—with your mind—to grasp that thing you need while your own two hands are busy. Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory, ATR By Emily Waltz, IEEE Spectrum 25 July 2018 Imagine commanding a robotic … READ MORE

Non-surgical recovery of function: Not a fantasy

“Improved voluntary hand function occurred within a single session in every subject tested.” Dr. Reggie Edgerton, Director of UCLA Edgerton Lab, poses for a portrait in his lab on the campus in Los Angeles, California, March 16, … READ MORE

Meet the guy with four arms, two of which someone else controls in VR

These robotic limbs could someday help people work together when they’re far apart. Fusion – Full Body Surrogacy for Collaborative Communication. Yamen Saraiji led the development of a pair of robotic arms that can be worn like a … READ MORE

Leg exercise is critical to brain and nervous system health

In a new take on the exercise truism ‘use it or lose it,’ researchers show neurological health is an interactive relationship with our muscles and our world. New research shows that using the legs, particularly in … READ MORE

Humans and machines learn together to win a competition

People using brain-computer interface are more efficient when both human and machine are allowed to learn. EPFL researchers trained two tetraplegic users to compete in the international Cybathlon BCI race. Both learned incrementally … READ MORE

UCalgary scientists discover a new way to battle multiple sclerosis

Findings challenge conventional thinking about the root cause of MS. The Dr. Peter Stys lab within the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, is equipped with highly specialized microscopes … READ MORE

Non-invasive spinal stimulation method enables paralyzed people to regain use of hands

More than 1.2 million Americans are living with paralysis from spinal cord injuries, which results in loss of the ability to perform such tasks as opening a water bottle. Nonsurgical technique allows them to turn doorknobs, open water … READ MORE

This neural operating system lets paralyzed, voiceless patients communicate

Nuro’s new brain-computer interface uses neurological signals to let incapacitated patients talk to doctors and family. Nuro enables instant communication and computing for millions of people in post-surgeries and ICUs, nursing … READ MORE

Computer system transcribes words users “speak silently”

Electrodes on the face and jaw pick up otherwise undetectable neuromuscular signals triggered by internal verbalizations. Arnav Kapur, a researcher in the Fluid Interfaces group at the MIT Media Lab, demonstrates the AlterEgo project. … READ MORE

A new wearable brain scanner

A helmet records a wearer’s brain activity using magnetoencephalography (MEG) while they move around. In a design that looks straight out of an old future-tech horror film, researchers in the U.K. have built a wearable, portable … READ MORE

Calgary researchers develop portable brain imaging system to shed light on concussions

A volunteer wears the cap, developed at the U of C, which contains small lights that have sensors connected to a computer. When researchers turn on the lights, they can monitor and measure brain activity. Elissa Carpenter CBC By Kelly … READ MORE

Rice team designs lens-free fluorescent microscope

FlatScope may be the world’s tiniest, lightest microscope for biological applications and beyond. Lenses are no longer necessary for some microscopes, according to Rice University engineers developing FlatScope, a thin fluorescent … READ MORE

People with tetraplegia gain rapid use of brain-computer interface

A new approach to calibrating the pioneering BrainGate brain-computer interface allowed three clinical trial participants with tetraplegia to gain control of a computer cursor after just one simple calibration step. Brain power. A … READ MORE

Mind-controlled device helps stroke patients retrain brains to move paralyzed hands

Device reads brain signals, converts them into motion. Stroke patients who learned to use their minds to open and close a device fitted over their paralyzed hands gained some control over their hands, according to a new study from … READ MORE

Brain-computer interface advance allows fast, accurate typing by people with paralysis

Stanford University School of Medicine Clinical research led by Stanford University investigators has demonstrated that a brain-to-computer hookup can enable people with paralysis to type via direct brain control at the highest speeds … READ MORE

EEG hat lets you control a robotic arm

Groundbreaking study demonstrates potential to help millions of people with disabilities. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have made a major breakthrough that allows people to control a robotic arm using only their minds. … READ MORE

Hybrid hand exoskeleton enables quadriplegics to eat and drink independently

A consortium of European scientists has successfully restored grasp function to six quadriplegics using a non-invasive hybrid brain-neural hand exoskeleton. The system was developed by researchers at the University of Tübingen, … READ MORE

Stimulator helps patients move hands, bypass spine injury

UCLA scientists test electrical stimulation that bypasses injury; technique boosts patient’s finger control, grip strength up to 300 percent. Brian Gomez works on building his arm strength during a therapy session at Ronald Reagan … READ MORE

The Exo-Glove Poly

Imagine you are not able to open a door or get yourself a glass of water, two seemingly easy and everyday tasks. For people who suffer paralysis in the hand and fingers caused by an injury or disease (e.g. spinal cord injury and … READ MORE

Brain-sensing technology allows typing at 12 words per minute

Stanford University researchers have managed to use an implanted multi-electrode array to read the brain signals of monkeys thinking of typing letters on a screen and to convert those signals into the target letters at a rate of 12 … READ MORE

Stroke: Innovative electrical stimulation glove improves hand function

A novel therapy has been devised for survivors of stroke with hand weakness to help improve hand function through the use of a glove that delivers electrical stimulation. By Hannah Nichols, Medical News Today 9 September 2016 About … READ MORE

New hope for the paralyzed: A dogged quest to fix broken spinal cords pays off

Reggie Edgerton, a 75-year-old physiologist who has spent four decades on a stubborn quest to prove, in the face of scientific ridicule, that severed spinal cords can be jolted back to life — and that paralyzed patients need not be … READ MORE

Completely paralyzed man voluntarily moves his legs

This is the first time that a person with chronic, complete paralysis has regained enough voluntary control to actively work with a robotic device designed to enhance mobility. Robotic step training and noninvasive spinal stimulation … READ MORE

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