Monkey uses mind to manipulate mechanical arm

HANGZHOU, Feb.21 (Xinhua)-- A tiny sensor implanted in a monkey's brain is allowing the animal to use its mind to prompt a mechanical arm to reach and grab food and drinks, scientists with east China's Zhejiang University announced Monday.
The technology, Brain-Machine Interface (BMI), is a real blessing for people with paralyzing conditions, according to Zheng Xiaoxiang, the professor leading the research group.
"It is the latest achievement in the BMI field, and not only brings hope to precision artificial limb development, but also deciphers the brain's code and builds up a bio-feedback model," said Professor Zheng.
He and his colleagues first implanted a tiny sensor, which is a bit smaller than a computer key, beneath the skull of a monkey named Jianhui, and then recorded every movement Jianhui made.
The sensor, functioning as a grid, holds 200 tiny electrodes, which are each linked to one neuron, and transfers the signals to a programmed computer.
The computer then analyzes the collection of the 200 motor neurons, and sends the signals to a mechanical arm, and the arm makes various movements accordingly.
During the experiment, Jianhui made various movements with its arms, while the mechanical arm, sitting just half a meter from Jianhui, made the same movements simultaneously.
Zheng said that there are more than 10,000 neurons in the motion area of one hand. He and his colleagues have made the first step in deciphering the hand movement with 200 neurons, and target helping patients with severe motor defects.

source: xinhuanet