Man can hardly move due to illness – chip in the brain allows him to gamble and work
A man is seriously ill with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Thanks to a tiny chip, he can now do many things on the computer again without having to use his hands. Many people could benefit from this in the future, but there is still a long way to go.
What is this disease? Australian Philip O’Keefe has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This condition is a developing muscle paralysis. As the disease progresses, the person becomes less able to use their arms and legs and ends up being unable to move. Consciousness and the ability to think are still fully operational.
If you have health problems, contact your trusted doctor. You will find extensive health tips at the Federal Ministry of Health or in a conversation with your personal family doctor.
Experimental chip is still far from being ready for the market
What exactly was planted in him? Doctors implanted a tiny chip in him in 2020. These chips are also called brain-computer interfaces, or BCI for short. It was an experiment at the time, as health regulations in Australia weren’t as strict as in the US. In addition to the Australian, around 40 other people worldwide received such a module (via gao.gov).
How exactly does this work? To use their device, the owner of the chip simply thinks of making a specific movement with their body. As his brain lights up with electrical signals, the module reads his mind.
The signals are transmitted to his chest, where a Bluetooth transmitter the size of a pacemaker wirelessly relays the signals from the brain to a computer. The pc can then convert the signal into an action. In this way he can do many things independently again:
- Write e-mails.
- Play simple things like solitaire or mah-jongg.
- Or make a Zoom call with friends and family.
Can you buy such a device? No, and the device is still a long way from being ready for the market. Because both the computer and the user have to be trained on each other so that the computer knows what the person wants from it. And every person and every brain works a little differently, which makes development very difficult. It is also not known what such a chip and the subsequent training would cost.
On top of that, it takes a lot of practice to control such a PC. Because you have to think about every single action on the computer: click, zoom, move the mouse to the right, move to the left.
You can see exactly how such an interface works in an English-language video on YouTube. Here, neuroengineer Dr. Rajesh Rao from the University of Washington on how such a system works:
Other exciting gadgets: A manufacturer presented a new device at the beginning of 2022, which is supposed to take care of hands. MeinMMO introduces you to the gadget from the Japanese company Bauhütte:
New gadget aims to take care of your most important gaming tool: your hands
Reference-mein-mmo.de