Press Release: Controlling a robot with your mind

 

Utrecht, 06-07-2012   Controlling a robot with your mind   Controlling a toy robot with your mind. Brain researcher, Nick Ramsey, of the UMC Utrecht, has managed to get study subjects to do just that. It forms the basis of a brain-computer interface that will allow paralyzed people to control a computer.  In the study, subjects had to lie still in a powerful, 7T MRI scanner, while the computer screen showed them what a toy robot's camera could 'see'. The subjects did not move, but had to keep their eyes focused on a single point. As the MRI scanner measured the brain activity, the computer learnt when the subjects were thinking left, right or forwards.  In this way, Ramsey and other UMC Utrecht colleagues have enabled four subjects to control a robot. The robot successfully completed a course of about nine meters with four stops along the way, while the 'driver' was lying elsewhere in an MRI scanner.  "All four study subjects were able to control the robot very quickly", explains Ramsey. "They all felt in control of the robot. This means that this type of brain-computer interface is very easy to master. Training is barely needed."  Ramsey is working on a brain-computer interface that will allow paralyzed people to control a computer. To achieve this, he hopes to implant electrodes into these patients' brains to measure brain activity. This is necessary to ensure a good signal, but it also involves major surgery. Ramsey believes that controlling the robot through the MRI scanner will be a first step for these patients. If the paralyzed people manage to control the robot, the investigators and doctors may then decide to implant electrodes in their brains. Ramsey hopes to be able to implant electrodes for the first time in paralyzed patients for a simpler system this fall. Controlling a robot using electrodes is expected to be possible in a few years.    Controlling the robot is part of Patrik Andersson's PhD research. He was awarded his PhD on 4 July at the UMC Utrecht. His supervisors are Prof. Nick Ramsey, Prof. Max Viergever and Dr Josien Pluim.       Note for editorial staff: If you need any more information please contact the secretary at the Department of Internal and External Communication at University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht. You can reach them by telephone on 088 7555000 or by e-mail at press@umcutrecht.nl. The number outside office hours is 088 7555555. Website: www.umcutrecht.nl/pers   The University Medical Center of　Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) The University Medical Center of Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) is one of the largest public healthcare institutions in the Netherlands. With almost 11 000 employees, UMC Utrecht is constantly building on the provision of good healthcare services, based on the right people and knowledge. UMC Utrecht aims to be an internationally leading university medical center, where knowledge about health, disease and healthcare is generated, tested, shared and applied. UMC Utrecht is one of the participating centers in the NFU which is the Dutch organization for University Medical Centers. The NFU is the result of a merger of the Netherland's university hospitals and medical centers.

 

 

 

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

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