Researchers have developed a non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) for completely locked-in patients. This is the first time that these patients, with complete motor paralysis but an intact cognitive state, have been able to reliably communicate. A completely locked-in state involves the loss of all motor control, including that of the eye mu (Read more...)
Tag: Neurology
Stentrode Minimally Invasive Brain-Machine Interface: Interview with Dr. Thomas Oxley, Neurologist at Royal Melbourne Hospital
Australian researchers at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the University of Melbourne have developed an electrode that can record brain activity from the motor cortex, without the need for invasive brain surgery. The electrode, called a stentrode, is implanted into a blood vessel in the brain using minimally invasive surgical techniques. The (Read more...)
Locked-In ALS Patients Speak Thanks to Transcranial Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
At the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering in Geneva, Switzerland, four completely paralyzed people suffering from advanced ALS were able to communicate thanks to a cap that measures changes in the oxygenation within the brain. These folks are effectively locked-in, not even having the ability to move their arms and relying on a ventilato (Read more...)
Lens-Free Automated Cell Counting System for Diagnosis of Meningitis
French researchers from Grenoble Alpes University and Aix-Marseille University have developed an automated lens-free microscopy technique for counting and telling apart red and white blood cells withing cerebrospinal fluid. Cerebrospinal fluid, gathered through a spinal tap, should be clear and have few, if any, blood cells within it. Patients with (Read more...)
Second Sight’s Orion I Brain Implant Bypasses Visual System to Let Blind See
Second Sight Medical, a company out of Sylmar, California, has implanted the first device that may bring vision to people that are completely blind from just about any injury or condition. The company became famous for its revolutionary Argus II retinal prosthesis that bypasses damaged photoreceptors in the eye and stimulates remaining retinal cell (Read more...)
Face-On With JINS SCREEN NIGHT Blue Light Blocking Glasses
JINS, a popular Japanese eyewear company, recently released their JINS SCREEN NIGHT lenses in the U.S. These glasses were developed to alleviate the negative effects that bright blue light from electronic screens can have on our circadian rhythms, quality of sleep, and how we feel in the morning. Modern gadgets tend to be pretty bright, […]
Thin Film Brain Implants Integrate Electronic Components in Flexible Package
There seems to be a race to develop practical neural interfaces that are implanted in a minimally invasive fashion and that don’t require wires sticking out of the scalp. We just reported on stentrodes that can be delivered into the brain through the vasculature and now we are learning of a new ability by researchers at Toyohas (Read more...)
Stentrodes for Recording Electrical Activity Within the Brain
Being able to accurately record brain activity over long periods of time holds promise for paralyzed people to control prosthetic devices or even their own arms and legs again. That’s can be thought of as only a start of course, as the brain is central to many diseases and conditions, as well as being a […]
The post Stentrodes for Reco (Read more...)
AXINESIS REAplan Upper Limb Rehab Robotic System Cleared in EU
AXINESIS, startup out of Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, won the European CE Mark to introduce its REAplan arm rehabilitation system. The product is designed to help people with brain injury, such as a stroke, recover motor activity in the upper limbs. The robotic device runs the patient through repetitive movement game (Read more...)
Simulation Demonstrates How Restored Vision Looks in Various Technologies
Technologies such as the Second Sight eye prosthesis can bring back basic vision to some blind people. However, the results are difficult to imagine for those not using such systems. Researchers at the University of Washington wanted to find out what it’s really like to see using a bionic eye, so they performed a […]
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Exclusive Video: See How JINS SCREEN Glasses Block Out Blue Light
Last night we attended the unveiling of JINS SCREEN glasses at the company’s eyewear store in San Francisco, their only US location. The company is one of the largest makers of eyeglasses in Japan and Asia, and now with its Bay Area debut JINS has decided to expand to the US. While the firm has […]
New Brain-Computer Interface System Lets Monkey Control Computer Cursor with Impressive Precision
Severely disabled people may soon be able to use new technology to communicate with others and to control external devices simply by using their thoughts. Brain-computer interfaces have shown promise in the past in being able to interpret a user’s intentions, but they are limited by the size of the electrode array and so the […]
The po (Read more...)
New Brain-Computer Interface System Lets Monkey Control Computer Cursor with Impressive Precision
Severely disabled people may soon be able to use new technology to communicate with others and to control external devices simply by using their thoughts. Brain-computer interfaces have shown promise in the past in being able to interpret a user’s intentions, but they are limited by the size of the electrode array and so the […]
The po (Read more...)
JINS SCREEN Glasses Block Blue Light to Improve Sleep, Adjust Circadian Rhythms
Blue light has relatively recently been confirmed as a culprit that can distort people’s circadian rhythms and turn sleeping into a nightly challenge. With the ongoing proliferation of portable electronic devices that feature bright, high resolution screens, more and more people are absorbing large quantities of blue light through their eyes (Read more...)
Pixium Vision Implants Restore Sight in Rats with Retinal Degeneration, Humans Next (VIDEO)
Prima Vision, a company based in Paris, France, is reporting that its PRIMA wireless subretinal implants for people who lost their vision has show a great deal of promise in a pre-clinical trial. The technology is designed specifically for those whose natural photoreceptors no longer function, yet who retain retinal neurons that can be el (Read more...)
JINS MEME Smart Eyewear Monitor Eye Movement, Blinking, Body Motion
We previously mentioned that wearables were huge at the 2015 International CES a couple weeks ago, but with so many companies coming out with their own versions of fitness bands, we got excited when we would come across a wearable that was located on the body someplace other than your wrist.
JINS, a popular Japanese eyewear designer, has (Read more...)
Artificial Semiconductor Wireless Retina Already Proving Itself in Lab Study
Researchers from Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, and Newcastle University have created a proof of concept artificial retina that may one day help treat a number of eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration. The device is made of semiconductor nanorod-carbon nanotubes and doesn’t have a (Read more...)
EBS Technologies Electro-Optical Stimulation System Restores Vision Lost Due to Neurological Conditions (VIDEO)
Many people affected by certain types of glaucoma, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and some other diseases lose a great deal of their vision due to neuropathy rather than from damage to the optical components of the eye. The nerve rich areas that can be affected are either in the brain’s regions that deal with vision or within the neuron (Read more...)
Vittamed’s Non-Invasive Intracranial Pressure and Cerebrovascular Autoregulation Monitors Cleared in EU (VIDEOS)
Vittamed out of Carlisle, MA received European CE Mark approval for its non-invasive intracranial pressure meter and non-invasive cerebrovascular autoregulation monitor. The Vittamed 205 intracranial pressure monitor works by applying pressure to the tissue surrounding the eye using a special pressure cuff. A Doppler ultrasound transducer plac (Read more...)
New Eye Monitoring Device Spots Early Signs of Diabetes
Autonomic neuropathy is a common complication arising from diabetes, causing side effects like gastroparesis, erectile dysfunction, and other conditions due to damaged autonomic nerves. Early detection of diabetic autonomic neuropathy can have substantial benefits to patients thanks to treatment commencing sooner than it does now. Now researc (Read more...)