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Brain Computer Interface Turns Mental Handwriting Into Text on Screen, Could Help People With Paralysis

A team of researchers at Stanford University have, for the first time, decoded brain activity related to writing by hand. The researchers collaborated with a participant with paralysis(inability to act or function properly) who had sensors implanted in his brain. The team then used an algorithm that identified the letters the participant imagined and attempted to write.
The system then displayed the same text on-screen in real time, meaning as and when the participant imagined them. Krishna Shenoy, the study co-author and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at the university, said the innovation, with more development, could well help people with paralysis rapidly type without using their hands.

In the experiment, the participant could type 90 characters per minute, which was more than double the typing record set by the previous “brain-computer interface".
An injury or a disease may take away a person's ability to move but the brain's neural activity connected with walking, holding a cup of coffee or tea, or even speaking a sentence remains. And this activity is exactly what the scientific community can tap into to enable people with paralysis or amputations to express their thoughts or even carry out an activity.


Credits: BharaniDharan

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