What are Brain-Machine Interfaces using biotech?
Brain-Machine Interfaces (BMIs) are systems that let your brain connect and talk to machines. When scientists use biotech in BMIs, they include living materials or biology-based tools to make the connection smoother, safer, and more natural. This mix of biology and technology helps create a direct path between our thoughts and a device.
Our brain sends tiny electrical signals when we think, move, or feel. BMIs can read those signals and send them to machines like computers or robotic arms. The machine then understands what our brain is trying to do and reacts, almost like it’s reading our mind. We could move a cursor, type, or even control a robot all just by thinking.
Although this technology is still being developed, it has amazing potential.
How can Brain-Machine Interfaces help people with paralysis?
The first and foremost goal of BMIs is to help people, especially the paralysis patients to regain their communicative power after their brain or nervous impairment. These problems can be very different.
For example, some people have locked-in syndrome, where their whole body is paralyzed and sometimes only their eyes can move. This can happen after a brainstem stroke or diseases that affect motor neurons. Others may have tetraplegia, which means paralysis of all four limbs, caused by spinal cord injuries or conditions like cerebral palsy. Some people have hemiplegia, where one side of the body is paralyzed due to a stroke or a head injury. There are also people with memory problems caused by diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Brain-computer interfaces can help people with paralysis to communicate by decoding neural signals into words.
People with paralysis often can’t move parts of their body, but their brain still works just fine. Brain-Machine Interfaces give them a way to use their thoughts to control machines, even if they can’t move their muscles. This means they can do things like move a robotic arm or use a tablet just by thinking.
For example, someone who can’t move their hands could use a BMI to type, open apps, or send messages. The device picks up the brain’s signals and turns them into actions on a screen or robot. This gives people more independence and control over their daily life, which can make a big difference emotionally and physically.
While BMIs don’t cure paralysis, they do offer a new way to connect with the world. Brain-computer interfaces can help people with paralysis to communicate by decoding neural signals into words. Several such brain-computer interfaces have recently been developed. Previous interfaces have had limited accuracy, with around a quarter of words being incorrectly decoded. They also required an extensive calibration period before they could be used.
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