A patient with Charcot’s disease, completely paralyzed, was able to express himself Via electrodes implanted in his brain and a computer interface. The researchers, both Swiss and German, publish their findings in the journal connection type[1]. They show that memory and consciousness are not affected by paralysis: ” Our main achievement is to prove that CLIS patients [2] They are neither dead nor unconscious but happy and conscious like you and me Summarizes Niels Bierbaumer, lead author of the study.
Patient’s front suffers from complete shutdown syndrome (CLIS): “He hears everything and understands everything, but he can neither move nor speak”, or even flicker. But this is the last move “Allows brain-computer interface systems to function”[3]for most patients with get into symptoms.
His eyes remained closed now, and they could no longer activate the pole. Then the scientists installed two arrays of microelectrodes [4] In the motor cortex, including the . system Neurofeedback Which informs him by an audible signal whether he has succeeded in activating the electrode or not. After 86 days of implanting the electrodes, the patient is able to activate them. After a few weeks, At a rate of one character per minute, he speaks last.. Then it took time for the patient to master this new tool: After 247 days, he told the medical team “ Guys, it works effortlessly »[5]. He now communicates with his family, including his 4-year-old son.
With this patient they’ve followed for two years, researchers believe this is a first: ” You succeed in communicating with someone who no longer has a voluntary movement and for whom this interface is now the only means of communication.” “We provided a communication channel for someone who could not communicate otherwise Welcome to Jonas Zimmermann, co-author. This is a brain-machine communication system It will benefit the most paralyzed people, those living with a stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or high-level spinal cord injury With this in mind, researchers have created a non-profit organization, ALS Voice. At the center of their research, they are also continuing their work developing a system “Fully implantable”let the “Real-time speech decoding, along with audio systems for more natural communication”. The system is called ‘Ability’, and it is in the preclinical stage of development.
[1] Choudhury, Yu, Vlachos, I, Zimmerman, JB et al. A spelling interface using intracortical cues in a completely closed patient enabled by auditory neurofeedback training. Nat Common 13, 1236 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28859-8
[2] Complete obstruction in the syndrome
[3] “ Patients who only have eye movement to communicate use eye movement-controlled tablets: the eye acts like a mouse on an on-screen keyboard.Veronique Blandin, ALIS General Delegate, explains.
[4] Each kit contains 64 needle shaped electrodes
[5] ” Guys it works easily »
Sources: Science et Avenir, Camille Gaubert (03/22/2022); Why Dr. Megan Florey (23/03/2022); Medical Press, Dennis Thompson (03/22/2022)
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