Noninvasive brain implant could someday translate thoughts into movement

ScienceDaily (June 17, 2011) — A brain implant developed at the University of Michigan uses the body's skin like a conductor to wirelessly transmit the brain's neural signals to control a computer, and may eventually be used to reactivate paralyzed limbs.

The implant is called the BioBolt, and unlike other neural interface technologies that establish a connection from the brain to an external device such as a computer, it's minimally invasive and low power, said principal investigator Euisik Yoon, a professor in the U-M College of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Currently, the skull must remain open while neural implants are in the head, which makes using them in a patient's daily life unrealistic, said Kensall Wise, the William Gould Dow Distinguished University professor emeritus in engineering.

BioBolt does not penetrate the cortex and is completely covered by the skin to greatly reduce risk of infection. Researchers believe it's a critical step toward the Holy Grail of brain-computer interfacing: allowing a paralyzed person to "think" a movement.

"The ultimate goal is to be able to reactivate paralyzed limbs," by picking the neural signals from the brain cortex and transmitting those signals directly to muscles, said Wise, who is also founding director of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSystems (WIMS ERC). That technology is years away, the researchers say.

Another promising application for the BioBolt is controlling epilepsy, and diagnosing certain diseases like Parkinson's.

The concept of BioBolt is filed for patent and was presented on June 16 at the 2011 Symposium on VLSI Circuits in Kyoto, Japan. Sun-Il Chang, a PhD student in Yoon's research group, is lead author on the presentation.

The BioBolt looks like a bolt and is about the circumference of a dime, with a thumbnail-sized film of microcircuits attached to the bottom. The BioBolt is implanted in the skull beneath the skin and the film of microcircuits sits on the brain. The microcircuits act as microphones to 'listen' to the overall pattern of firing neurons and associate them with a specific command from the brain. Those signals are amplified and filtered, then converted to digital signals and transmitted through the skin to a computer, Yoon said.

Another hurdle to brain interfaces is the high power requirement for transmitting data wirelessly from the brain to an outside source. BioBolt keeps the power consumption low by using the skin as a conductor or a signal pathway, which is analogous to downloading a video into your computer simply by touching the video.

Eventually, the hope is that the signals can be transmitted through the skin to something on the body, such as a watch or a pair of earrings, to collect the signals, said Yoon, eliminating the need for an off-site computer to process the signals.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Michigan, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Noninvasive brain implant could someday translate thoughts into movement

ScienceDaily (June 17, 2011) — A brain implant developed at the University of Michigan uses the body's skin like a conductor to wirelessly transmit the brain's neural signals to control a computer, and may eventually be used to reactivate paralyzed limbs.

The implant is called the BioBolt, and unlike other neural interface technologies that establish a connection from the brain to an external device such as a computer, it's minimally invasive and low power, said principal investigator Euisik Yoon, a professor in the U-M College of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Currently, the skull must remain open while neural implants are in the head, which makes using them in a patient's daily life unrealistic, said Kensall Wise, the William Gould Dow Distinguished University professor emeritus in engineering.

BioBolt does not penetrate the cortex and is completely covered by the skin to greatly reduce risk of infection. Researchers believe it's a critical step toward the Holy Grail of brain-computer interfacing: allowing a paralyzed person to "think" a movement.

"The ultimate goal is to be able to reactivate paralyzed limbs," by picking the neural signals from the brain cortex and transmitting those signals directly to muscles, said Wise, who is also founding director of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSystems (WIMS ERC). That technology is years away, the researchers say.

Another promising application for the BioBolt is controlling epilepsy, and diagnosing certain diseases like Parkinson's.

The concept of BioBolt is filed for patent and was presented on June 16 at the 2011 Symposium on VLSI Circuits in Kyoto, Japan. Sun-Il Chang, a PhD student in Yoon's research group, is lead author on the presentation.

The BioBolt looks like a bolt and is about the circumference of a dime, with a thumbnail-sized film of microcircuits attached to the bottom. The BioBolt is implanted in the skull beneath the skin and the film of microcircuits sits on the brain. The microcircuits act as microphones to 'listen' to the overall pattern of firing neurons and associate them with a specific command from the brain. Those signals are amplified and filtered, then converted to digital signals and transmitted through the skin to a computer, Yoon said.

Another hurdle to brain interfaces is the high power requirement for transmitting data wirelessly from the brain to an outside source. BioBolt keeps the power consumption low by using the skin as a conductor or a signal pathway, which is analogous to downloading a video into your computer simply by touching the video.

Eventually, the hope is that the signals can be transmitted through the skin to something on the body, such as a watch or a pair of earrings, to collect the signals, said Yoon, eliminating the need for an off-site computer to process the signals.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Michigan, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Novel noninvasive tests for early cancer detection

ScienceDaily (May 3, 2011) — Researchers at last month's AACR conference in Orlando demonstrated that they are intensifying their efforts to identify and validate various types of biomarkers that are detectable in readily accessible bodily fluids such as blood and urine, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). The goal is to detect biosignatures that are more specific and sensitive than existing diagnostic modalities, according to the May 1 issue of GEN .

"The molecular diagnostic approach is geared toward finding tumors earlier in the course of disease," says John Sterling, Editor in Chief of GEN. "This could reduce the need for more invasive and costly biopsies and imaging studies and lead to earlier therapeutic intervention."

At the AACR meeting, Harvey Pass, M.D., New York University Langone Medical Center and Cancer Center, discussed his group's experience working in collaboration with SomaLogic to develop an aptamer-based diagnostic to detect malignant mesothelioma in asbestos-exposed individuals. Dr. Pass presented data derived from the application of biomarker subsets to a blinded test set, demonstrating 100% specificity and 80% sensitivity for their ability to distinguish asbestos-exposed controls from mesothelioma cases.

Another presentation pointed out that measurement of CA125 in the blood is the test currently used to monitor ovarian cancer treatment, follow patients for recurrence, and in some cases screen high-risk individuals to detect early-stage disease. In her conference talk, Christine Coticchia, Ph.D., Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, emphasized that CA125 is relatively nonspecific for ovarian cancer and uninformative in a substantial percentage of patients. Dr. Coticchia and colleagues are studying a combination of two matrix metalloproteases, MMP-2 and MMP-9, in urine for their utility as biomarkers to predict the presence of ovarian cancer in women with normal CA125 levels.

Other research projects covered in the GEN article include work at Celera, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Michigan Health System, Gen-Probe, University of California at San Diego Medical Center, Université Laval, Dianon Systems, Aarhus University Hospital, Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, and Exiqon.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Vicki Glaser. Cancer Detection Improved with Noninvasive Testing. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, May 1, 2011 (Vol. 31, No. 9) [link]

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here