1.

INTRODUCTION

Brain Gate is a brain implant system developed by the bio-tech company Cyber kinetics in 2003 in conjunction with the Department of Neuroscience at Brown University. The device was designed to help those who have lost control of their limbs, or other bodily functions, such as patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or spinal cord injury. The computer chip, which is implanted into the brain, monitors brain activity in the patient and converts the intention of the user into computer commands. Cyber kinetics describes that, "Such applications may include novel communications interfaces for motor impaired patients, as well as the monitoring and treatment of certain diseases which manifest themselves in patterns of brain activity, such as epilepsy and depression." According to the Cyber kinetics' website, three patients have been implanted with the Brain Gate system. The company has confirmed that one patient (Matt Nagle) has a spinal cord injury, while another has advanced ALS. The remarkable breakthrough offers hope that people who are paralyzed will one day be able to independently operate artificial limbs, computers or wheelchairs. The implant, called Brain Gate, allowed Matthew Nagle, a 25-yearold Massachusetts man who has been paralyzed from the neck down since 2001, to control a cursor on a screen and to open and close the hand on a prosthetic limb just by thinking about the relevant actions. Professor Donoghue's work is published today in Nature. He describes how, after a few minutes spent calibrating the implant, Mr. Nagle could read emails and play the computer game Pong. He was
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able to draw circular shapes using a paint program and could also change channel and turn up the volume on a television, even while talking to people around him. After several months, he could also operate simple robotic devices such as a prosthetic hand, which he used to grasp and move objects from his wheelchair. This marks the first time that neural movement signals have been recorded and decoded in a human with spinal cord injury. The system is also the first to allow a human to control his surrounding environment using his mind.

1.1. Mathew Nagle using Brain Gate

NAGLES STATEMENT: I can't put it into words. It's justI use my brain. I just thought it. I said, "Cursor go up to the top right." And it did, and now I can control it all over the screen. It will give me a sense of independence.

In addition to real-time analysis of neuron patterns to relay movement, the Brain gate array is also capable of recording electrical data for later analysis. A potential use of this feature would be for a neurologist to study seizure patterns in a patient with epilepsy. The 'Brain Gate' device can provide paralyzed or motorimpaired patients a mode of communication through the translation of thought into direct computer control. The technology driving this breakthrough in the BrainMachine-Interface field has a myriad of potential applications, including the development of human augmentation for military and commercial purposes. The Brain Fate Neural Interface device consists of a tiny chip containing 100 microscopic electrodes that is surgically implanted in the brain's motor cortex. This tiny chip contains tiny spikes that will extend down about one millimeter into the brain after being implanted beneath the skull, monitoring the activity from a small group of neurons. The chip can read signals from the motor cortex, send that information to a computer via connected wires, and translate it to control the movement of a computer cursor or a robotic arm. It will now be possible for a patient with spinal cord injury to produce brain signals that relay the intention of moving the paralyzed limbs, as signals to an implanted sensor, which is then output as electronic impulses. These impulses enable the user to operate mechanical devices with the help of a computer cursor. The whole apparatus is the size of a baby aspirin. According to Dr. John Donaghue of Cyber kinetics, there is practically no training required to use Brain Gate because the signals read by a chip implanted, for example, in the area of the motor cortex for arm movement, are the same signals that would be sent to the real arm. A user with an implanted chip can immediately begin to move a cursor with thought alone. However, because movement carries a variety of information such as velocity, direction, and
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acceleration, there are many neurons involved in controlling that movement. Brain Gate is only reading signals from an extremely small sample of those cells and, therefore, only receiving a fraction of the instructions. Without all of the information, the initial control of a robotic hand may not be as smooth as the natural movement of a real hand. But with practice, the user can refine those movements using signals from only that sample of cells. The Brain Gate technology platform was designed to take advantage of the fact that many patients with motor impairment have an intact brain that can produce movement commands. This may allow the Brain Gate system to create an output signal directly from the brain, bypassing the route through the nerves to the muscles that cannot be used in paralyzed people. Brain gate is currently recruiting patients with a range of neuromuscular and neurodegenerative conditions for pilot clinical trials in the United States. Cyber kinetics hopes to refine the Brain Gate in the next two years to develop a wireless device that is completely implantable and doesn't have a plug, making it safer and less visible and once the basics of brain mapping are worked out there is potential for a wide variety of further applications. Surgeon explains, "If you could detect or predict the onset of epilepsy, which would be a huge therapeutic application for people who have seizures, which leads to the idea of a 'Pacemaker for the Brain'. So eventually people may have this technology in their brains and if something starts to go wrong it will take a therapeutic action. That could be available by 2007 to 2008."

2. BRAIN GATE

2.1. NEURAL INTERFACE SYSTEM DEVICE

The Brain Gate Neural Interface System is currently the subject of a pilot clinical trial being conducted under an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) from the FDA. The system is designed to restore functionality for a limited, immobile group of severely motor-impaired individuals. It is expected that people using the Brain Gate System will employ a personal computer as the gateway to a range of selfdirected activities. These activities may extend beyond typical computer functions (e.g., communication) to include the control of objects in the environment such as a telephone, a television and lights. The Brain Gate Neural Interface Device is a proprietary brain computer interface that uses an internal sensor to detect brain activity and external processors that convert these brain signals into a computer-mediated output under the persons own control. The Brain Gate System is a hardware device that uses software. The sensor consists of a tiny chip, smaller than a baby aspirin, which contains one hundred electrode sensors that each tap into a separate neuron. Brain Gate senses, analyses, and transmits the data from the brain to an outside system. This allows the user to interact with the outside world in a more independent way. The ultimate goal of the Brain Gate System development program is to create a safe, effective and unobtrusive universal operating system that will enable those with motor impairments to control a wide range of devices, including computers, assistive technologies and medical devices, by simply using their thoughts.

Brain Gate contains a chip that is implanted on the surface of the motor cortex area of the brain. In the pilot version of the device, a cable connects the sensor to an external signal processor in a cart that contains three computers. The computers translate hard-to detect brain signals to create the communication output using custom decoding software. When the patient is connected to the system he or she can mentally move the cursor just like a mouse would do. John Donoghue, the chair of the Department of Neuroscience at Brown University, led the original project research and went on to co-found Cyber kinetics, where he is currently chief scientific officer overseeing the clinical trial. Hugh Herr, another scientist, also helped in the development of a neural interface system. Herr became very passionate about the development of a technology that would give independence and movement back to people that were physically impaired. Herr lost both legs at a young age from frostbite. He then started research on combining both body and machine, his research has already made a significant impact for people that are physically challenged. He has helped in the development of many prosthetics. The development of the Brain Gate System brain-computer interface is to enable those with severe paralysis and other neurological conditions to live more productively and independently. Also, scientists are developing the Brain Gate Systems underlying core technology in the NeuroPort System to enable improved diagnosis and treatment for a number of neurological conditions, such as epilepsy and brain trauma. The NeuroPort System is a neural monitor designed for acute inpatient applications and labeled for temporary recording and monitoring of brain electrical activity. Brain Gate will be the first human device that has been designed to record, filter, and amplify multiple channels of simultaneously recorded neural activity at a very high spatial and temporal resolution. It has been thoroughly researched and will contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of neurological
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conditions in patients who have undergone a craniotomy. This will give neurologists and neurosurgeons a new resource to detect, transmit and analyze neural activity.

2.1.

Brain Gate Technology

Dr. Steve Williams, a clinical advisor to Cyber kinetics, presented a description of the Brain Gate Controller, a next generation, standardized interface system that is under development. The development of this system would replace the initial prototype controller which has been used in the Brain Gate trial until now. The M*Power Controller is designed to allow a Brain Gate System patient to control a standard wireless computer device. The new interface is also intended to be easier to use for patients and their families, so they can access the capabilities of the system on a routine basis without reliance on a technician. These two closely linked efforts are intended to yield a Brain Gate System allowing patients significant control over their environment, the ability to readily perform numerous daily activities that are currently beyond their reach, and vastly enhance communications opportunities. For example, use of the M*Controller as an
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interface control, by thought alone would allow patients to perform a range of tasks including: making and receiving telephone calls, controlling remote devices, accessing the internet, and communicating via e-mail. The Brain Gate system includes hardware and software and may be used as a telecommunication device in the future. This could greatly impact a business or organization. It will give people with disabilities a chance to work at a business just like anyone else. With this technology they will be able use a wide variety of devices and may also lead to a decline in the use of hands on activities. With the development of devices such as these, one day everyone may have chips in their brain that will allow them to perform tasks without the use of their body. We have presented to you an overview of the technology known as the Brain Gate System. Above, we have described the technology, discussed how it could impact a business or organization, and how the developers are planning to take this technology to the next level. Here is a recap of the main points: Brain Gate is a neural interface system device that has a chip that reads brain activity through the use of sensors and then transmits the activities to three computers which convert the thoughts into actions. This system is used for people that are physically impaired; it helps give them the independence and the capabilities of the norm. The scientists working on Brain Gate hope to create an operating system that is safe, effective and unobtrusive. The neurologists are constantly trying to come up with more ideas to push this form of emerging technology further.

2.2. HISTORY
After 10 years of study and research, Cyber kinetics, a biotech company in Foxboro, Massachusetts, has developed Brain Gate in 2003. Dr. John Donaghue, director of the brain science program at Brown University, Rhode Island, and chief scientific officer of Cyber kinetics, the company behind the brain implant, lead the team to research and develop this brain implant system. He studied the functioning of Brain gate in monkeys and proved that they were able to control a cursor on a computer monitor with their thoughts. They have not only demonstrated in preclinical studies that brain gate can remain safely implanted in the (monkey) brain for at least two years, but have shown that it can safely be removed as well.

2.3. ABOUT THE BRAINGATE DEVICE

The Brain gate pilot device consists of a Sensor of the size of a contact lens, a cable and pedestal, which connects the chip to the computer, a cart which consists of the signal processing unit.

2.2.

Brain Gate Pilot Device

2.4. NEURO CHIP:

Currently the chip uses 100 hair-thin electrodes that 'hear' neurons firing in specific areas of the brain, for example, the area that controls arm movement. The activities are translated into electrically charged signals and are then sent and decoded using a program, which can move either a robotic arm or a computer cursor.

2.3.

Brain Gate Chip

2.4.

96 electrode sensors

In addition to real-time analysis of neuron patterns to relay movement, the Brain gate array is also capable of recording electrical data for later analysis. A potential use of this feature would be for a neurologist to study seizure patterns in a patient with epilepsy.

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3. BCI TECHNOLOGY

Brain computer interfaces determine the intent of the user from a variety of different electrophysiological signals which include slow cortical potentials, P300 potentials or beta rhythms recorded from the scalp. Research on BCIs began in the 1970s, but it wasn't until the mid-1990s that the first working experimental implants in humans appeared. Following years of animal experimentation, early working implants in humans now exist, designed to restore damaged hearing, sight and movement. The common thread throughout the research is the remarkable cortical plasticity of the brain, which often adapts to BCIs, treating prostheses controlled by implants as natural limbs. With recent advances in technology and knowledge, pioneering researchers could now conceivably attempt to produce BCIs that augment human functions rather than simply restoring them, previously only the realm of science fiction.

3.1.

BCI Working

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3.1. BCI v/s NEUROPROSTHETICS

Neuroprosthetics is an area of neuroscience concerned with neural prostheses using artificial devices to replace the function of impaired nervous systems or sensory organs. The most widely used neuroprosthetic device is the cochlear implant, which was implanted in approximately 100,000 people worldwide as of 2006. There are also several neuroprosthetic devices that aim to restore vision, including retinal implants, although this article only discusses implants directly into the brain. The differences between BCIs and neuroprosthetics are mostly in the ways the terms are used: neuroprosthetics typically connect the nervous system, to a device, whereas the term BCIs usually connects the brain (or nervous system) with a computer system. Practical neuroprosthetics can be linked to any part of the nervous system, for example peripheral nerves, while the term "BCI" usually designates a narrower class of systems which interface with the central nervous system. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably and for good reason. Neuroprosthetics and BCI seek to achieve the same aims, such as restoring sight, hearing, movement, ability to communicate, and even cognitive function. Both use similar experimental methods and surgical techniques. Based on the communicative Pathway BCI is classified as follows: 3.1.1. One Way BCI: Computers either accept commands from the brain or send signals to it (for example, to restore vision) but not both.

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3.1.2. Two Way BCI: Brains and external devices can exchange information in both directions but have yet to be successfully implanted in animals or humans Brain Computer interface is of three types based on its features and are 3.2.1 Invasive BCI 3.2.2 Partially Invasive BCI 3.2.3 Non Invasive BCI

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4. IMPLEMENTATION OF BRAIN GATE

4.1. PRINCIPLE
"The principle of operation of the Brain Gate Neural Interface System is that with intact brain function, neural signals are generated even though they are not sent to the arms, hands and legs. These signals are interpreted by the System and a cursor is shown to the user on a computer screen that provides an alternate "Brain Gate pathway". The user can use that cursor to control the computer, just as a mouse is used."

4.2. HOW DOES THE BRAIN CONTRAL MOTOR FUNCTION?

The brain is "hardwired" with connections, which are made by billions of neurons that make electricity whenever they are stimulated. The electrical patterns are called brain waves. Neurons act like the wires and gates in a computer, gathering and transmitting electrochemical signals over distances as far as several feet. The brain encodes information not by relying on single neurons, but by spreading it across large populations of neurons, and by rapidly adapting to new circumstances. Motor neurons carry signals from the central nervous system to the muscles, skin and glands of the body, while sensory neurons carry signals from those outer parts of the body to the central nervous system. Receptors sense things like chemicals, light, and sound and encode this information into electrochemical signals transmitted by the sensory neurons and interneuron tie everything together by connecting the various neurons within the brain and spinal cord. The part of the brain that controls motor skills is located at the ear of the frontal lobe.
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4.3. HOW DOES THIS COMMUNICATION HAPPEN?

Muscles in the body's limbs contain embedded sensors called muscle spindles that measure the length and speed of the muscles as they stretch and contract as you move. Other sensors in the skin respond to stretching and pressure. Even if paralysis or disease damages the part of the brain that processes movement, the brain still makes neural signals. They're just not being sent to the arms, hands and legs. A technique called neurofeedback uses connecting sensors on the scalp to translate brain waves into information a person can learn from. The sensors register different frequencies of the signals produced in the brain. These changes in brain wave patterns indicate whether someone is concentrating or suppressing his impulses, or whether he is relaxed or tense.

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5. WORKING

Operation of the BCI system is not simply listening the EEG of user in a way that lets tap this EEG in and listen what happens. The user usually generates some sort of mental activity pattern that is later detected and classified.

5.1. PREPROCESSING
The raw EEG signal requires some preprocessing before the feature extraction. This preprocessing includes removing unnecessary frequency bands, averaging the current brain activity level, transforming the measured scalp potentials to cortex potentials and denoising.

5.2. DETECTION
The detection of the input from the user and them translating it into an action could be considered as key part of any BCI system. This detection means to try to find out these mental tasks from the EEG signal. It can be done in time-domain, e.g. by comparing amplitudes of the EEG and in frequency-domain. This involves usually digital signal processing for sampling and band pass filtering the signal, then calculating these time -or frequency domain features and then classifying them. These classification algorithms include simple comparison of amplitudes linear and non-linear equations and artificial neural networks. By constant feedback from user to the system and vice versa, both partners gradually learn more from each other and improve the overall performance.

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5.3. CONTROL
The final part consists of applying the will of the user to the used application. The user chooses an action by controlling his brain activity, which is then detected and classified to corresponding action. Feedback is provided to user by audio-visual means e.g. when typing with virtual keyboard, letter appears to the message box etc.

5.4. SOFTWARE BEHIND BRAIN GATE

Software is necessary for transmission of the signals from the chip implanted on the brain to the machine and for decoding these signals and to convert it to corresponding action by the machine. The computers translate brain activity and create the communication output using custom decoding software and the algorithms are written in languages like C, Java and MATLAB. The software is a BCI based on trials which is a time interval where the user generates brainwaves to perform an action. The signals are processed and associated to a given class and is done by feeding a neural net with the preprocessed EEG data. Further the neural nets output is processed and this final output corresponds to the given class. The software has three operating modes and they are Simulation, Recording and Training.

5.4.1. SIMULATION & RECORDING

The simulation mode is used to test the BCI. Recording is the same as simulation, with the difference that the EEG data is recorded and used as training examples.

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It further has 3 operations within and they are Preparation, Prerecording and Recording.

5.4.2. TRAINING
The training is the part where the user adapts to the BCI system. This training begins with very simple exercises where the user is familiarized with mental activity which is used to relay the information to the computer. Motivation, frustration, fatigue, etc. apply also here and their effect should be taken into consideration when planning the training procedures.

5.5. BIO FEEDBACK

The definition of the biofeedback is biological information which is returned to the source that created it, so that source can understand it and have control over it. This biofeedback in BCI systems is usually provided by visually, e.g. the user sees cursor moving up or down or letter being selected from the alphabet.

5.6. PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY

Neurons are cells that use a language of electrical impulses to communicate messages from the brain to the rest of the body. At Cyber kinetics, we have the technology to sense, transmit, analyze and apply the language of neurons. We are developing products to restore function, as well as to monitor, detect, and respond to a variety of neurological diseases and disorders. Cyber kinetics offers a systems approach with a core technology to sense, transmit, analyze and apply the language of neurons in both short and long-term settings. Our platform technology is based on the results of several years of research and development at premier academic institutions such as Brown
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University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Emory University, and the University of Utah.

5.7. SENSE
Cyber kinetics unique technology is able to simultaneously sense the electrical activity of many individual neurons. Our sensor consists of a silicon array about the size of a baby aspirin that contains one hundred electrodes, each thinner than a human hair. The array is implanted on the surface of the brain. In the Brain Gate Neural Interface System, the array is implanted in the area of the brain responsible for limb movement. In other applications the array may be implanted in areas of the brain responsible for other body processes.

5.8. TRANSMIT AND ANALYSE

The human brain is a super computer with the ability to instantaneously process vast amounts of information. Cyber kinetics technology allows for an extensive amount of electrical activity data to be transmitted from neurons in the brain to computers for analysis. In the current Brain Gate System, a bundle consisting of one hundred gold wires connects the array to a pedestal which extends through the scalp. The pedestal is connected by an external cable to a set of computers in which the data can be stored for off-line analysis or analyzed in real-time. Signal processing software algorithms analyze the electrical activity of neurons and translate it into control signals for use in various computer-based applications.

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5.1. Brain Computer Interface-I

5.2. Brain Computer Interface-II

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5.9. APPLY
Cyber kinetics ability to generate control signals and develop computer application interfaces provides us with a platform to develop multiple clinical products. For example, using the Brain Gate Neural Interface System, a person may be able to use his thoughts to control cursor motion and/or replicate keystrokes on a computer screen. In another example, a doctor may study patterns of brain electrical activity in patients with epilepsy before, during and after seizures.

5.10. IMPLANTING THE CHIP

There will be two surgeries, one to implant the Brain Gate and one to remove it. Before surgery, there will be several precautionary measures in order to prevent infection; patients will have daily baths with antimicrobial soap and take antibiotics. In addition, MRI scans will be done to find the best place on the brain for the sensor. Under sterile conditions and general anesthesia, Doctor will drill a small hole into the skull and implant the sensor using the same methods as in the monkey studies. Patients will receive post-surgical care including a CT scan, some blood tests, and wound care in the hospital for 1 to 5 days after surgery. After surgery, one of the study doctors will see the patients at least once a week for six weeks, then monthly and as needed. A nurse will also check the patients regularly and will always carry a 24-hour pager. The skin around the pedestal will need to be carefully monitored during the study. Detailed instructions will be provided so that the patients daily care provider can help with skin care.

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5.3.

Neuromotor Prosthetic Device

The sensor of the size of a contact lens is implanted in brains percental gyrus which control hand and arm movements. A tiny wire connects the chip to a small pedestal secured in the scull. A cable connects the pedestal to a computer. The brain's 100bn neurons fire between 20 and 200 times a second .The sensor implanted in the brain senses these electrical signals and passes to the pedestal through the wire. The pedestal passes this signals to the computer through the cable. The computer translates the signals into a communication output, allowing a person to move a cursor on a computer screen merely by thinking about it.

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6. BRAIN GATE RESEARCH IN ANIMALS

Rats implanted with BCIs in Theodore Berger's experiments. Several laboratories have managed to record signals from monkey and rat cerebral cortexes in order to operate BCIs to carry out movement. Monkeys have navigated computer cursors on screen and commanded robotic arms to perform simple tasks simply by thinking about the task and without any motor output. Other research on cats has decoded visual signals.

6.1.

Brain Gate Research in Animals

Garrett Stanley's recordings of cat vision using a BCI implanted in the lateral geniculation nucleus (top row: original image; bottom row: recording) in 1999, researchers led by Garrett Stanley at Harvard University decoded neuronal firings to reproduce images seen by cats. The team used an array of electrodes embedded in the thalamus (which integrates all of the brains sensory input) of sharp-eyed cats. Researchers targeted 177 brain cells in the thalamus lateral geniculation nucleus area, which decodes signals from the retina. The cats were shown eight short movies, and their neuron firings were recorded. Using mathematical filters,

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the researchers decoded the signals to generate movies of what the cats saw and were able to reconstruct recognizable scenes and moving objects. There has been rapid development in BCIs since the mid-1990s. Several groups have been able to capture complex brain motor centre signals using recordings from neural ensembles (groups of neurons) and use these to control external devices, including research groups led by Richard Andersen, John Donoghue, Phillip Kennedy, Miguel Nicolelis, and Andrew Schwartz. Later experiments by Nicolelis using rhesus monkeys, succeeded in closing the feedback loop and reproduced monkey reaching and grasping movements in a robot arm. With their deeply cleft and furrowed brains, rhesus monkeys are considered to be better models for human neurophysiology than owl monkeys. The monkeys were trained to reach and grasp objects on a computer screen by manipulating a joystick while corresponding movements by a robot arm were hidden. The monkeys were later shown the robot directly and learned to control it by viewing its movements. The BCI used velocity predictions to control reaching movements and simultaneously predicted hand gripping force.

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7. APPLICATIONS OF BRAIN GATE

MULTI DEVICE PATIENT AMBULATION SYSTEM

A sensor with a number of electrodes for detecting multi cellular signals, a processing unit configured to receive the multi cellular signals and produce a processed signal, and transmit the processed signal to a controlled device. This helps the patient in achieving movement.

BIOLOGICAL INTERFACE SYSTEM WITH PATIENT TRAINING APPARATUS

The system includes a patient training apparatus configured to receive a patient training signal that causes the patient training apparatus to controllably move one or more joints of the patient.

BIOLOGICAL INTERFACE SYSTEM WITH SURROGATE CONTROLLED DEVICE

Multi cellular signals emanating from one or more living cells of a patient, and a processing unit configured to receive the multi cellular signals from the sensor and process the multi cellular signals to produce a processed signal. The processing unit may be configured to transmit the processed signal to a controlled device.

LIMB AND DIGIT MOVEMENT SYSTEM

Data from the joint movement device is transmitted to the processing unit for determining a value of a configuration parameter of the system and controlled cables that produce the forces required.

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 DARPA
DARPA has been interested in Brain-Machine-Interfaces (BMI) for military applications like wiring fighter pilots directly to their planes to allow autonomous flight from the safety of the ground.

MENTAL TYPEWRITER
This application demonstrates how a paralyzed patient could communicate by using a mental typewriter alone without touching the keyboard.

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8. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

8.1. ADVANTAGES
The Brain Gate Neural Interface System is being designed to one day allow the user to interface with a computer and/or other devices at a level of speed, accuracy and precision that is comparable to, or even faster than, what is possible with the hands of a non-disabled person. The Brain Gate System may offer substantial improvement over existing assistive technologies. Currently available assistive devices have significant limitations for both the person in need and the caregiver. For example, even simple switches must be adjusted frequently, a process that can be time consuming. In addition, these devices are often obtrusive and may prevent the user from being able to simultaneously use the device and at the same time establish eye contact or carry on conversations with others. Potential advantages of the Brain Gate System over other muscle driven or brain-based computer interface approaches include: its potential to interface with a computer without weeks or months of training; its potential to be used in an interactive environment, where the user's ability to operate the device is not affected by their speech, eye movements or ambient noise; and the ability to provide significantly more usefulness and utility than other approaches by connecting directly to the part of the brain that controls hand movement and gestures.

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8.2. DISADVANTAGES
The disadvantage of the Brain Gate System is that at this time, while still being perfected, the switches must be frequently adjusted which is a time consuming process. As the device is perfected this will not be an issue. There is also a worry that devices such as this will normalize society. The Brain Gate Neural Interface System has not been approved by the FDA, but has been approved for IDE status, which means that it has been approved for pre-market clinical trials. There are no estimates on cost or insurance at this time. Difficulty in adaptation and learning. Limitation in information transform rate. The latest technology is 20 bits/min.

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9. FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS

Future Brain Gate system products may control devices that allow breathing, bladder and bowel movements. Development of second generation patient interface software that will enable users to perform a wide variety of daily activities without the assistance of the technician. Development of a Brain Gate system which has a wireless interface between the implanted server and the computer.

9.1. FUTURE OF NEURAL INTERFACES

Cyber kinetics has a vision, CEO Tim Surgeon explained to Gizmag, but it is not promising "miracle cures", or that quadriplegic people will be able to walk again yet. Their primary goal is to help restore many activities of daily living that are impossible for paralyzed people and to provide a platform for the development of a wide range of other assistive devices. Cyber kinetics hopes to refine the Brain Gate in the next two years to develop a wireless device that is completely implantable and doesn't have a plug, making it safer and less visible. Surgeon also sees a time not too far off where normal humans are interfacing with Brain Gate technology to enhance their relationship with the digital world - if they're willing to be implanted. Scientists have for the first time developed a brain implant that allows people to control electronic devices by thought alone.

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10.CONCLUSION

The invention of Brain gate is such a revolution in medical field. The remarkable breakthrough offers hope that people who are paralyzed will one day be able to independently operate artificial limbs, computers or wheelchairs. The idea of moving robots or prosthetic devices not by manual control, but by mere thinking (i.e., the brain activity of human subjects) has been a fascinated approach. Medical cures are unavailable for many forms of neural and muscular paralysis. The enormity of the deficits caused by paralysis is a strong motivation to pursue BMI solutions. So this idea helps many patients to control the prosthetic devices of their own by simply thinking about the task. This technology is well supported by the latest fields of Biomedical Instrumentation, Microelectronics; signal processing, Artificial Neural Networks and Robotics which has overwhelming developments. Hope these systems will be effectively implemented for many biomedical applications. WITH A BRAINGATE YOU CAN: Turn on or off the lights on your room Check and read E-mails Play games in computer Use your PC Watch and control your Television

Control a robotic arm

10.1 Advantages of Brain Gate
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11. BIBILIOGRAPHY

Websites:
http://www.cyberkineticsinc.com http://www.bbcnews.com http://www.wikipedia.org http://www.wired.com http://www.howstuffworks.com http://www.google.com http://www.scribd.com

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