1.

1INTRODUCTI
ON

BrainGat ei sabr aini mpl antsy stem dev elopedbyt hebi o-techcompany
Cy berki neticsi nconj unct ionwi t
ht heDepar tmentofNeur osci enceatBr own
Uni ver si
ty.Thedev elopmentoft hebr ai ngat esy stem br ai n-comput eri nterfacei s
toenabl et hosewi thsev erepar alysisandot herneur ologi calcondi ti
onst ol i
ve
mor epr oduct ivelyandi ndependent l
y.Thecomput erchi p, whi chi simpl antedi nto
thebr ain,moni torsbr ai nact ivit
yi nt hepat ientandconv er t
st hei nt entionoft he
useri nt o comput ercommands.Cur rent lyt hechi p usesabout100 hai r-
thin
elect rodest hatsenset heel ect r
o- magnet icsignat ur eofneur onsf ir
ingi nspeci fi
c
areasoft hebr ain.
Theact ivityi st r
ansl at edi ntoel ect ri
cal lychar gedsi gnal sandi st hensentand
decodedusi ngapr ogram,whi chcanmov ear obot icar m,acomput ercursor ,or
ev enawheel chai r
.Sci ent ist sar edev elopi ngt hebr aingat esy stemsunder l
ying
cor et echnol ogyi nt heneur opor tsy st em t o enabl ei mpr ov ed di agnosi sand
treat mentf oranumberofneur ologicalcondi t i
ons,suchasepi lepsyandbr ain
trauma.Br ai ngat ewi llbet hef i
rsthumandev i
cet hathasbeendesi gnedt o
recor d,f il
ter,andampl ifymul tiplechannel sofsi mul taneousl yr ecor dedneur al
act ivi
tyatav eryhi ghspat ialandt empor alresol ution.Whenaper sonbecomes
par alyzed,neur alsi gnalf rom t hebr ainnol ongerr eacht hei rdesi gnat edsi teof
termi nat i
on.Howev er,t hebr aincont i
nuest osendoutt hesesi gnal sal though
theydonotr eacht heirdest ination.I tist hesesi gnal st hatt hebr aingat esy stem
picksupandt heymustbepr esenti nor derf ort hesy stem t owor k.
Iti sf oundt hatpeopl ewi thl ong- st anding,sev erepar al ysiscangener ate
signal si nt hear eaoft hebr ainr esponsi bl eforv ol unt arymov ementandt hese
signal scanbedet ect ed,r ecor ded,r out edoutoft hebr aint oacomput erand
conv erted int o act ionsenabl i
ng apar al yzed pat ientt o per form basi ct asks.
Sci entistsar et oi mpl antt i
nycomput erchi psi nt hebr ainsofpar alyzedpat ients
whi chcoul d‘ readt heirt hought s’.Br aingat econsi st sofasur gicallyi mplant ed
sensort hatr ecor dst heact i
vityofdozensofbr aincel lssi mul taneousl y .The
sy stem al sodecodest hesesi gnal si nr ealt i
met ocont rolacomput erorot her
ext ernaldev i
ces.Thebr ain gat et echnol ogypl at form wasdesi gned t ot ake
adv ant ageoft hef actt hatmanypat ient swi t
hmot ori mpai r menthav eani ntact
brai nt hatcanpr oducemov ementcommandsal l
owi ngt hebr ai ngat esy stem t o
creat eanout putsi gnaldi rect l
yf r
om t hebr ain,by passi ngt her out et hrought he
ner vest ot hemuscl est hatcannotbeusedi npar aly zedpeopl e.

1.
2HI
STORY

HansBer
ger
’si
nnov
ati
on i
nthef
iel
d ofhuman br
ainr
esear
ch and i
ts
elect ri
calact ivityhasacl oseconnect ionwi tht hedi scov er yofbr ai ncomput er
i
nt erfaces.Ber geri scr edi t
edwi t ht hedev el opmentofel ect roencephal ogr aphy ,
whi chwasamaj orbr eakt hroughf orhumansandhel pedr esear cher sr ecor d
humanbr ai nact ivit
y –t heel ectroencephal ogr am ( EEG) .Thi swascer tai nlya
maj ordi scov er yinhumanbr ainmappi ng,whi chmadei tpossi bl etodet ectbr ai n
diseases.Ri char dCant on’s1875’ sdi scov eryofel ectricalsi gnal si nani malbr ains
wasani nspi rationf orBer ger.Asoneoft hef irstcommonuseofbr ai ncomput er
i
nt erfacet echnol ogy ,EEGneur o-feedbackhasbeeni nusef orsev eral decades.
They ear1998mar kedasi gni fi
cantdev elopmenti nt hef i
eldofbr ainmappi ng
whenr esear cherPhi l
ipKennedyi mpl ant edt hef irstbr aincomput eri nt er face
objecti nt oahumanbei ng.Howev er , t
heBCIobj ectwasofl imi tedf unct i
on.The
onlybenef itfrom t hisdev elopmentwast heuseofawi rel essdi -
el ectr ode.
JohnDonoghueandhi st eam ofBr ownUni ver sityr esear cher sf ormeda
publ ict radedcompany ,Cy berkinet ics,i n2001.Thegoalwast ocommer cially
desi gnabr aincomput eri nterface,t heso- cal l
ed Br ainGat e.Thecompanyhas
comeup wi th Neur oPor t i t
sf irstcommer ci alpr oduct .Col umbi aUni ver sity
Medi calCent err esear cher shav esuccessf ullymoni toredandr ecor dedel ect rical
act i
vityint hebr ainwi thi mpr ov edpr ecisi on.Accor dingt or esear cher s,Neur oPor t
Neur alMoni t
or i
ngSy st em enabl edt hem t oi dent i
f ymi cro- seizur eact i
v i
typr iort o
epilept i
csei zur esamongpat i
ent s.
June2004mar kedasi gnificantdev elopmenti nt hef ieldwhenMat thewNagl e
becamet hef irsthumant obei mpl ant edwi thaBCI ,Cy ber kinet i
cs’ s Br ainGat e.
In December2004,Jonat han Wol paw and r esear cher s atNew Yor k St at e
Depar tmentofHeal th’sWadswor thCent ercameupwi thar esear chr epor tt hat
demonst rat edt heabi l
ityt ocont rolacomput erusi ngaBCI .Int hest udy ,pat ient s
wer easkedt owearacapt hatcont ainedel ect rodest ocapt ureEEGsi gnal sf rom
themot orcor tex–par toft hecer ebr um gov er ningmov ement .
Anumberofdev elopment shav ebeent aki ngpl acei nt hef i
eld.By2050,i ti s
hasbeensuggest edt hatBCIcoul dbecomeamagi cwand,hel pingmencont rol
object swi tht hei rmi nd.Thedayi sn’ tfarof fwhenmanmaybeabl et ogui dean
out sideobj ectwi t
ht hei rthought si nor dert oconsi st ent lyexecut ebot hnat ur al
andcompl exmot i
onsofev erydayl ife.

1.
3BRAI
NCOMPUTERI
NTERFACE

Abrai
n-computerint
erface(BCI
),sometimescal l
edadirectneur
alinter
face
orabrain-
machi neinter
face,isadi rectcommuni cationpathwaybet weena
humanoranimal br
ain(br
aincellcul
tur
e)andanext ernaldevi
ce.I
none-wayBCI s,
comput
erseitheracceptcommandsf r
om thebrainorsendsi gnal
stoi tbutnot
bot
h.Two-wayBCI s would all
ow brains and externaldevi
ces to exchange
i
nf ormat i
oni nbot hdi rect i
onsbuthav ey ett o besuccessf ull
yi mplanted in
animal sorhumans.I nt hisdef ini
tion,t hewor dbrainmeanst hebr ainorner vous
system ofanor gani cl ifef orm r athert hant hemi nd.Comput ermeansany
processi ng orcomput ationaldev ice,f rom si mple cir
cuitst o si l
i
con chi ps
(i
ncl uding hy potheticalf ut
ur et echnol ogies such as quant um comput i
ng).
Resear chonBCI sbegani nt he1970s,buti twasn' tunti
lthemi d-1990sthatt he
fi
rstwor kingexper i
ment ali mplant si nhumansappear ed.Fol lowingy earsof
animal experimentation, earlywor kingi mplant sinhumansnowexi st,
designedt o
restoredamagedhear i
ng,si ghtandmov ement .Thecommont hreadt hr
oughout
ther esear chisther emar kablecor ticalplastici
tyoft hebrain,whi choftenadapt s
toBCI s,t r
eati
ngpr osthesescont rol l
edbyi mpl antsasnat urall
imbs.Wi t
hr ecent
adv ances i ntechnol ogy and knowl edge,pi oneer i
ng researcher s could now
concei v ablyatt
emptt opr oduceBCI st hataugmenthumanf unct i
onsr at
hert han
simpl yr estori
ngthem, prev i
ouslyonl ythereal m ofscienceficti
on.

Fi
g.1.
1:Bl
ockDi
agr
am OfaBCISy
stem
1.
3.1Pr
inci
ple

Thepr incipleofoperat
ionoftheBrainGat
eNeur alI
nt erfaceSy stem ist hat
withintactbr ai
nf uncti
on,neuralsi
gnal
saregener atedev ent hought heyar enot
senttot hear ms,handsandl egs.Thesesignal
sar einterpr etedbyt hesy stems
andacur sori sshownt ot heuseronacomput erscr eent hatpr ovidesan
alt
ernate" BrainGat epathway "
.Theusercan uset hatcur sort o cont rolt he
comput er,justasamousei sused.Thetechnologydr ivi
ngt hisbreakthroughi n
theBrain-Machi neInter
facefiel
dhasamy riadofpot enti
alappl i
cati
ons, i
ncl uding
thedevelopmentofhumanaugment ati
onformil
itaryandcommer ci
al purposes.

1.
3.2Wor
king

Thebasi cel ement sofBr ainGat e:-

1.Thechi p:Af our -
mi ll
imet ersquar esi li
conchi pst uddedwi thabout100hai r
thi
n mi croelect r
odesi sembeddedi nt hepr i
mar ymot orcor tex-ther egi onoft he
brainr esponsi blef orcont roll
ingmov ement .
2.Theconnect or:Whensomebodyt hinks mov ecur sorup and l efthi s
corticalneur onsf i
rei nadi sti
nct iv
epat t
er nt hesi gnali st ransmi t
t edt hrought he
pedest alplugat tachedt ot heskul l
.
3.Theconv erter:Thesi gnalt rav elst oanampl ifi
erwher ei ti sconv ertedt o
optical dataandbouncedbyf iberopt iccabl etoacomput er .
4.Thecomput er:Braingat elearnst oassoci atepat ternsofbr ainact ivit
ywi th
particulari magi ned mov ement s up,down,l eft,r i
ghtand t o connectt hose
mov ement st oacur sor.
Theper sont hinksofmov ingt hecomput ercursor .El ectrodesont hesi l
i
con
chipi mpl antedi ntot heper sonsbr aindet ectneur alact i
vityf rom anar rayof
neur alimpul sesi nthebr ainsmot orcor t ex .
Thei mpul sest r
ansf erf r
om t hechi p
toapedest alpr otrudingf r
om t hescal pt hr oughconnect i
onwi res. Thepedest al
,
fi
lt
er s outunwant ed si gnals ornoi se,and t hen t ransf erst he si gnalt o an
ampl ifi
er.Thesi gnali scapt uredbyacqui sitionsy stem andi ssentt hroughaf iber
opticcabl et oacomput er.Thecomput ert hent r
ansl atest hesi gnali ntoanact i
on,
causi ngthecur sort omov e.
Thebr aingat esy stem i saneur omot orpr osthet i
cdev i
ceconsi sting ofan
arrayofone hundr edsiliconmi cro-el ect rodes; eachel ectrodei s1mm l ongand
thi
nnert han a human hai r.The el ectr odes ar e ar ranged l ess t han hal fa
milli
met r
eapar tont hear ray ,whi chisat tachedt oa13cm- longcabl eribboncabl e
connect i
ngitt oacomput er.
Fi
g.1.
2:Asi
l
iconchi
pimpl
ant
edi
nthebr
aincor
text
hroughpedest
al

TheBr ainGat eneur alinterfacesy stem isapr oprietar y

, i
nvest i
gationalBr ain-
Comput erInter f
ace( BCI)t hatconsi stsofani nternalsensort odet ectbr aincel l
activit
yandext ernalpr ocessor sthatconv ertthesebr ainsi gnalsi ntoacomput er-
medi atedout putundert heper son’sowncont rol
.Thesensori simpl antedont he
surfaceoft hear eaoft hebr ainr esponsi blef orv oluntar ymov ement ,themot or
cortex.Theel ectrodespenet rateabout1mm i ntot hesur faceoft hebr ai
nwher e
theypi ckupel ectri
calsi gnalsknownasneur alspi king,t hel anguageoft hebr ain
from near byneur onsandt ransmi tt hem t hrought hingol dwi rest oat it
anium
pedest althatpr otrudesaboutani nchabov et hepat ient ’
sscal p.Anext ernal
cableconnect st hepedest altocomput ers,signalpr ocessor sandmoni t
ors.The
technol ogyisabl et osenset heel ect r
icalactivit
yofmanyi ndividualneur onsat
onet imet hedat aist r
ansmi t
tedf rot heneur onsi nt hebr ai
nt ocomput erswher e
i
ti sanal yzedandt het hought sar eusedt ocont rolanext ernaldev ice.ev en20
and200t i
mesasecondandt heywor kinteams.
Ther easonaBCIwor ksatal lisbecauseoft hewayourbr ai
nsf unction.Our
brainsar efill
edwi t
hneur ons,individualner vecel l
sconnect edt ooneanot herby
dendrit
esandaxons.Everyti
mewet hi
nk,move,
feel orr
emembersomething,our
neuronsareatwor k.Thatwor kiscarr
iedoutbysmal lel
ect
ri
csignal
st hatzip
fr
om neur on t
o neuron asf astas250 mph . Thesignal
saregener ated by
di
fferencesi
nelect
ricpotent
ialcar
ri
edbyionsont hemembraneofeachneuron.

Fi
g.1.
3:Basi
cwor
kingpr
inci
pleoft
heBr
ainGat
e

Alt
hought hepathst hesignalstakeareinsulatedbysomet hingcal l
edmy el
in,
someoft heelectricsi
gnalescapes.Sci enti
stscandet ectthosesi gnals,interpr
et
whattheymeananduset hem t odirectadev i
ceofsomeki nd.Itcanal sowor k
theotherwayar ound.Forexampl e,
researcherscoul dfi
gureoutwhatsi gnal sare
senttothebr ainbyt heopt i
cner v
ewhensomeoneseest hecolorr ed.Theycoul d
ri
gacamer athatwoul dsendt hoseexactsignalsint osomeone’ sbr ainwhenev er
thecamer asawr ed,al
lowingabl indpersonto“ see”wi t
houtey es.
Basical
lyther earetwomet hodst osensethesi gnal
ssent byt heneur ons:
1.
ECoG: Invasivemet hod.
2.
EEG: Noni nvasivemet hod
1.
3.3ECoG–El
ect
rocor
ti
cogr
aphy
:

Thismeasur est heel ect ri

calact ivityoft hebr ai nt akenf rom beneat ht he
skull
.Her et heel ect rodesar eembeddedi nat hinpl asti
cpadt hati spl aced
abov e t he cor tex,beneat h t he dur amat er.ECoG i sa v er y pr omi sing
i
nt er
medi ateBCImodal itybecausei thashi gherspat i
alr esol uti
on,bet ter
signal-
to-noi ser atio,wi derf requencyr ange,andl essert rai
ningr equirement s
thanscal p- r
ecor dedEEG( Elect roencephal ography )
,andatt hesamet i
mehas
l
owert echni caldi fficulty ,lowercl inicalr isk,andpr obabl ysuper iorlong- term
stabil
it
yt hani ntracor t
icalsi ngl e-neur onr ecording.Thi sf eat urepr of i
leand
recentev idenceoft hehi ghl ev elofcont rolwithmi ni malt rai
ni ngr equirement s
showspot entialforr eal wor ldappl icationf orpeoplewi t
hmot ordi sabili
ties.To
getahi gher -resolut ionsi gnal ,sci ent i
stscani mpl antel ectrodesdi rect l
yi nto
thegraymat teroft hebr aini tsel f
,oront hesur faceoft hebr ain,beneat ht he
skull
.Thi sal lowsf ormuchmor edi rectr ecept i
onofel ectricsignal sandal lows
electr
odepl acementi nt hespeci ficar eaoft hebr ainwher et heappr opriate
signalsar egener at ed.Thi sappr oachhasmanypr obl ems, howev er.Itrequi res
i
nv asi
v esur ger yt oi mpl antt heel ect rodes,anddev icesl eftint hebr ainlong-
termt endt ocauset hef ormat ionofscart i
ssuei nt hegr aymat t er.Thi sscar
ti
ssueul timat elybl ockssi gnal s.

1.
3.4EEG–El
ect
roencephal
ogr
aphy

Theeasi estandl eastinvasi v

emet hodi sasetofel ect rodes— adev ice
known as an el ectr
oencephal ogr aph ( EEG)— at tached t ot he scal p.The
electrodes can r ead br ai
n signals.Howev er,t he skul lbl ocks a l otoft he
electri
cal signal,
andi tdist
ort
swhatdoesgett hrough.
Itist hemostst udiedpotent i
alnon- i
nv asiveint erf
ace,mai nl
yduet oi t
sf ine
tempor alr esolut
ion,easeofuse,por tabi l
ityandl owset -
upcost .Asubst antial
barriertousi ngEEG asabr ain-comput eri nterfacei stheext ensivet raining
requiredbef oreuser scanwor kt het echnology .Si gnalsr ecor dedi nt hisway
hav ebeenusedt opowermuscl ei mpl antsandr estor epartialmov ementi nan
exper i
ment alvolunteer.Theyar eeasyt owear ,non- invasivei mplantspr oduce
poorsi gnalr esol ut
ion because t he skul ldampens si gnal s,disper si
ng and
blurri
ngt heel ectromagnet icwav escr eatedbyt heneur ons.Al t
hought hewav es
canst i
l
lbedet ect editismor edi fficultt odet ermi net hear eaoft hebr aint hat
createdt hem ort heact i
onsofi ndividual neurons.
1.
4SOFTWAREBEHI
NDBRAI
N-GATE

Inor dert otransmi tandanal yzesi gnals,wer equir

especi al
izedsof t
ware
suppor tfort heBr ainGatesy stem.Si ncet heBr ai
nGatet echnologyact sasa
surrogatef orthemedi calt
reat ment swhi chhel psthediffer
ently-
abledpeopleto
carryoutt hei
rr outine actions,j ustl i
ke anyot herpeopl e,we r equi
re an
advancedsof t
waresuppor tfort his.Sof twaresar enecessaryf ortransmissi
on
ofthesi gnalsf r
om t hechi pi mpl ant edont hebr ai
nt othemachi neandf or
decodi ngt hesesi gnalsandt oconv er t
ingi ttocor r
espondi ngact i
onbyt he
machi ne.Thecomput erstranslat ebrai nactivit
yandcr eatethecommuni cati
on
outputusi ngcust om decodi ngsof twar e.System usesadapt ivealgorit
hmsand
pattern-mat chi
ngt echniquest of acili
tatecommuni cati
onbet weent hebrainand
machi ne.Theal gor i
thmsar ewr i
tteninl anguagesl i
keC, JAVAandMATLAB.

1.
4.1Wor
kingOfSof
twar
e

Thesof twar eisaBCIbasedont ri

als.At rialisat i
mei nter
valwher et he
usergener atesbr ainwav est oper form anact i
on.TheBCIt ri
est oprocesst hi
s
signalandt oassoci atei ttoagi vencl ass.Theassoci ationi sdonebyf eedinga
neuralnetwi tht hepr epr ocessedEEG dat a.Theneur alnet 'soutputi st hen
furt
herpr ocessedandt hisf i
nalout putcor r
espondst ot hegi venclass.The
neural netshoul dbet rainedi nor dertolearnt heassoci ation.
Thesof twar eal l
owsy outo
1.Dosi mpl eBi ofeedback.Youcandi splayr aw EEGchannel s,narr
ow band
frequencyampl i
tudesandcl asses
2.Si mul atet rial
s.
3.Recor dtrialsforanumberofchoi cesofdi fferentclasses.
4.Tr aint hei nterface.
Thesof twar ehast hreeoper ati
ngmodes:SI MULATI ON,RECORDI NG and
TRAI NI NG.Youcanswi tchbet weenoper ati
ngmodesbypr essingF1,F2orF3
respect ively( thesof twar edoesn' tchangei tsmodei nst antly,becauseat r i
al
shoul dn'tbei nt err
upt edi nt hemi ddle).
The oper ation is qui te simpl e.The userr ecords sev eraltri
alsf ort he
diff
erentcl asses( RECORDI NGmode) .Eachcl assi sassoci atedtoadi ff
erent
ment alt ask.Af terrecor dingar easonableamountoft ri
als( mor ethan50t rial
s
foreachcl ass) ,theusercant raint hesy stem t ol ear
nawayt odiscriminate
betweent hedi fferentcl asses( TRAI NINGmode) .Thi sprocesscanber epeat ed
i
nor dert oi mpr ovet hequal ityoft her ecogni t
ion.Thesy stem canbet ested
undert heSI MULATI ONmode.
1.
4.2Si
mul
ati
onAndRecor
ding

Thet womodesper form si

ngletri
als.TheSIMULATI ONmodei susedt otest
theBCI .RECORDI NGist hesameasSI MULATION,wi t
ht hedi f
ferencet hatthe
EEGdat aisr ecordedandusedast r
ainingexamples.At rialhast hef ol
lowing
struct
ur e:
•Pr epar ati
on:TheBCIdoesn' tdisplayanythi
ngbutt heEEG dat aandt he
features.Theusercanr elaxduringthistime.
•Pr erecording:TheBCIdi spl
aysthet ar
getcl
assbyi ndicati
ngawhi tet ar
get
l
ine.Theusershoul dst
ar tt
oper f
ormt hementaltaskassoci atedtot het ar
get
class,butt hedataisn'
trecordedyet.
• Recor ding:The BCIdi splayst he barsi ndicat
ing whi ch classes ar e
recognized i n each ti
me i nstant
.The EEG dat ai sr ecorded ( excepti n
SIMULATI ONmode) .

1.4.
3Tr ai
ning
Pr essingt heF3key ,thesy st
em startstotrai
nt heneuralnetwiththe
avai
labledat a.Thetrainingsetusedf orthi
spurposeisthesetofthel
astTrial
Buff
err ecordedt r
ial
s'f eat
ures.Trai
ningtimedependsupont hecomplexi
tyof
thetrainingdat aandt heamountofr ecordeddat
a.

1.
5BRAI
NGATERESEARCHI
NANI
MALS

1.Exper i
mentOnRat s:
Rat si mplant ed wi th BCIsi n Theodor e Ber ger '
s exper i
ment s.Sev er al
l
abor atorieshav emanagedt or ecordsi gnalsf rom monkeyandr atcerebr al
cortexes i n or dert o oper at
e BCI st o carr
youtmov ement .Monkey s hav e
nav i
gat ed comput ercur sor s on scr een and commanded r obotic arms t o
perfor m simplet askssi mpl ybyt hinkingaboutt het askandwi thoutanymot or
output .Otherr esear chonr atshasdecodedv isual signals.
In1999,r esear chersl edbyGar rettStanleyatHar var
dUni versit
ydecoded
neur onalf i
ri
ngst or eproducei magesseenbyr ats.Thet eam usedanar r
ayof
electrodes embedded i nt he t halamus ( which i ntegrat
es al loft he brains
sensor yinput )ofshar pey edr ats.Resear cher st ar geted177br aincel l
sint he
thalamusl at
eral geni culatenucl eusar ea,whichdecodessi gnalsf r
om t hereti
na.
Ther atswer eshownei ghtshor tmov i
es, andt heirneur onfir
ingswer erecorded.
Usingmat hemat i
calf il
ters,ther esear chersdecodedt hesi gnalst ogener ate
mov i
esofwhatt her atssawandwer eabl etor econst r
uctrecogni zablescenes
andmov i
ngobj ects.
2.Exper imentOnMonkey s
Lat erexper i
ment sbyNi coleli
susi ngr hesusmonkey s, succeededi ncl osing
thef eedbackl oopandr eproducedmonkeyr eachingandgr aspi ngmov ement s
i
nar obotar m.Wi t
ht heirdeepl ycleftandf urrowedbr ai
ns, r
hesusmonkey sare
consi der edt obebet t
ermodel sforhumanneur ophy si
ologyt hanowlmonkey s.
Themonkey swer et rai
nedt or eachandgr aspobj ect sonacomput erscr eenby
mani pul atingaj oystickwhi lecor respondi ngmov ement sbyar obotar m wer e
hidden.Themonkey swer elatershownt her obotdi rectl
yandl ear nedt ocont rol
i
tbyv iewi ng i t
smov ements.TheBCIused v el ocit
ypr edi cti
onst o cont rol
reachi ngmov ement sandsi mul t
aneousl ypr edictedhandgr ippingf orce.Ot her
l
abst hatdev el opBCI sandal gor i
thmst hatdecodeneur onsi gnal si ncludeJohn
Donoghuef rom Br own Uni versi
ty,Andr ew Schwar tzfr om t heUni ver sit
yof
Pitt
sbur ghandRi chardAnder senf rom Cal tech.Theser esear cher swer eabl eto
produce wor king BCI s even t hough t heyr ecorded si gnal sf r om f arf ewer
neuronst hanNi colelis(15–30neur onsv ersus50–200neur ons) .Donoghue' s
groupr epor tedt rainingr hesusmonkey stouseaBCIt otrackv isual target sona
comput erscr eenwi thorwi thoutassi st anceofaj oystick( closed- l
oopBCI ).
Schwar tz'sgr oupcr eatedaBCIf ort hree- dimensi onaltracki ngi nv irt
ualr eality
andal sor epr oducedBCIcont roli
nar obot i
car m.

1.
6APPLI
CATI
ONS

1.Thebr aingat eneur alinterf acesy st em i sani nv est igat i

onalmedi cal
dev i
cet hati sbeingdev elopedt oi mpr ov et hequalityofl i
fef orphy si
cally
disabl edpeopl ebyal lowingt hem t oqui ckl yandr eliablycont rolawi de
range of dev ices by t hought ,includi ng comput ers,env ironment al
cont rols, roboticsandmedi cal dev i
ces.
2.Oneoft hemostexci ti
ngar easofBCIr esearchi st hedev elopmentof
dev i
cest hatcanbecont rolledbyt hought s.Someoft heappl i
cati
onsof
thistechnol ogymayseem f riv ol
ous, suchast heabi li
tyt ocont rolav i
deo
gamebyt hought .Ify out hinkar emot econt r
oli sconv eni ent,imagine
changi ngchannel swi thyourmi nd.
3.Oncet hebasi cmechani sm ofconv er tingt hought st ocomput eri
zedor
robot icact i
oni sper fected,t hepot ent ialusesf ort het echnologyar e
almostl i
mi tl
ess.I nsteadofar obotichand,di sabl eduser scoul dhav e
robot icbr acesat tachedt ot hei rownl imbs,al l
owi ngt hem t omov eand
directlyi nteractwi tht heenv ironment .Thi scoul dev enbeaccompl i
shed
withoutt he“ robot i
c”par toft hedev i
ce.Si gnalscoul dbesentt othe
appr opr i
at emot orcont r
olner vesi nt hehands,by passi ngadamaged
sectionoft hespi nalcor dandal lowingact ualmov ementoft hesubj ect’
s
 ownhands.
4.Cyberkineti
csisal sodevel
opingproductstoallow forroboticcontrol
,
suchasat hought-contr
oll
edwheelchair
.Nextgenerati
onpr oductsmay
beabl et oprovi
deani ndivi
dualwit
ht heabil
it
yt ocontroldevicesthat
all
owbr eathi
ng,bl
adderandbowel mov ements.
5.Thebr aingatesy stem hasall
owedpeopl ewithparaly
sistooper at
ea
comput erinordert oreade- mai
l,contr
olawheel chai
randoper at
ea
robot
ichand.

Fi
g.1.
4:Appl
i
cat
ionOfBr
ainGat
e

6.Thesy stem wi l
lconnectt hebr aingatesensorwi t
hf unctionalelectri
cal
sti
mul ati
on (FES)sy stem,whi ch uses electri
calimpul ses tot r
igger
muscleandl i
mbmov ement .Thef i
rstver
sionwi l
lallow userst omake
simplemov ement st hatcoul dbeusedt operfor
mt askssuchaseat i
ngor
dri
nkingusingt heirownar msandhandsandundert henat uralcontrolof
thei
rownbr ains.Thei nit
ialv er
sionoft hi
sFESsy stem woul dusear m
suppor t
s.Laterv ersions,howev er,wontrequir
esuppor tsandwi llall
ow
userst odoact ivi
tiest hatr equiremor edexterit
y,suchasusi ngcel l
phonesorr emot econt rols.
7.The devi
ce can be used in an int
eract
ive env
ironment;act
ivi
ty
sur
roundi
ngt
hepati
entwil
lnotaf
fectt
heaccuracyofthedevce.
i
1.
7ADVANTAGES

1.TheBr ainGateNeur alI nterfaceSy stem i sbei ngdesi gnedt oonedayal l

ow
theusert ointerfacewi t
hacomput erandorot herdev icesatal evelof
speed,accur acyandpr ecisiont hati scompar ablet o,orev enf ast
ert han,
whati spossi blewi tht hehandsofanon- disabledper son.
2. TheBr ainGateSy st em mayof f
ersubst ant i
alimpr ovementov erexisting
assi stive t echnol ogi es. Cur rently av ai l
able assi stive dev i
ces hav e
signi f
icantl imitati
onsf orbot htheper soni nneedandt hecar egi
ver.For
ex ampl e,evensi mpl eswi t
chesmustbeadj ustedf requent ly
, aprocesst hat
canbet i
meconsumi ng.
3.Inaddi tion,thesedev i
cesar eof tenobt rusiveandmaypr eventtheuser
from bei ngabl et osi mul taneousl yuset hedev i
ceandatt hesamet ime
est ablishey econt actorcar ryonconv ersat ionswi thot hers.
4. Pot entialadv antagesoft heBr ai
nGat eSy stem ov erot hermuscl edriv
enor
brai n-based comput er int erface appr oaches i nclude:i t
s pot enti
alt o
inter f
acewi t
hacomput erwi thoutweeksormont hsoft raining;i
tspotent ial
tobeusedi nani nt er act i
veenv ir
onment ,wher etheuser '
sabi li
tytooper ate
thedev iceisnotaf f ectedbyt heirspeech,ey emov ement sorambi ent
noi se;andt heabi lityt opr ov i
desi gnificant l
ymor eusef ulnessandut i
lity
thanot herappr oachesbyconnect i
ngdi rectl
yt ot hepar toft hebraint hat
cont r
olshandmov ementandgest ures.

Fi
g.1.
5:Appl
i
cat
ionOfBr
ainComput
eri
nter
facei
nHuman
Wit
haBr ai
nGat eyouCan:
1.Turnonorof ft
heli
ghtsonyourroom
2. Checkandr eadE-mail
s
3. Pl
aygamesi ncomputer
4. Usey ourPC
5.Wat chandcont r
olyourTel
evi
sion
6.Cont r
olaroboti
carm
1.
8 DI
SADVANTAGES

Thedisadvantageoft heBr ainGateSy stem i st hatatthistime,whil

est i
llbeing
per
fected,
1.The swi tches mustbe f r
equent l
yadj usted which isat ime consumi ng
process.Ast hedev i
cei sperfectedt hiswi l
lnotbeani ssue.
2.Ther eisalsoawor rythatdev i
cessuchast hi swil
l“normali
ze”societ
y.
3. TheBr ainGat eNeur alInterf
aceSy stem hasnotbeenappr ovedbyt heFDA,
buthasbeenappr ovedf orIDEst atus, whichmeanst hatithasbeenappr oved
forpre-
mar ketcli
nicaltrial
s.
4. Diffi
cult
yinadapt ationandl earning.
5. Limitati
onini nf
ormat iont r
ansformr ate.Thel at
esttechnologyi
s20bi ts/min

1.
9Fut
ureDev
elopment
s

Int hefutureBrainGatesystem couldbeusedbyt hosei ndi

vi
dualswhose
i
njuriesar elesssev er
e.Nextgener at
ionpr oductsmaybeabl etopr ovidean
i
ndividualwi ththeabili
tytocontroldevicest hatall
ow br eat
hing,bladderand
bowelmov ements.New advancesincludesecondgener at
ionpatientint
er f
ace
softwar ethatwi l
lenableuser sto perf
orm awi dev ar
ietyofdai l
yact ivi
ti
es
withoutt heassi
stanceofthetechni
cian.
Fut uredevel
opmentmi lest
oneoftheBr ainGat esystem alsoincl
udeawi rel
ess
i
nterfacebet weentheimplantedserv
erandt hecomput er.

1.
10CONCLUSI
ON

Thei deaofconnect ingacomput ertoabr ainisnotnew.Asear l

yast he
1950si twaspossi bl etoi mpl antsingleormul ti
pleelectr
odesi ntothecor t
exof
humansandani mal sf orr ecor dingorst imul
ation.Ther esul twassomet i
mes
spectacul ar"control"ofanani mal ’
smot orbehav i
ororat tempt edi nf
luenceof
neurological di
sorder s.
Wi tht hewor l
dwi dei ntroduct i
onofcomput ers,andongoi ngmi ni
aturi
zation,
severalresear chgr oupshav est artedtol ookintothepot ent i
alappl i
cabil
ityof
suchBMI s,BCIs,orneur alpr osthesesf orusei npat i
ents.Thesedev i
ces,by
extr
act i
ng si gnal
sdi rectlyf rom t he brain,mighthelpt or estore abil
it
iest o
pati
ent swhohav el ostsensor yormot orfunct
ionbecauseofdi seaseori nj
ury .In
essence, thecomput erisusedasasur r
ogateforthedamagedr egionand, int he
caseofaneur omot orpr osthesis,actst oint
erpretbrainsi gnalsanddr i
vet he
appropriat eeff
ecter.
 Weshoul dn’tspeakabouthumansandmachi nesanymor ebutr atherof
cogni
ti
vesy st
ems,wher ehumansandmachi nesareapar tofthei nt
ell
igence.
Wecoul dsayt hattheBr ainGatecan’
twor kwi t
houtahumanbr ainandt he
humanbrain(forsomeonewhoi spar
alysed)can’
tfunct
ionwit
houttheBr ainGate
syst
em.Inthiswayt hehumanandt hemachi neareinter
acti
ngwitheachot her
andcreat
etogetheranintell
i
gentsystem.Byt hi
ssystem apersoncanwor kwith
acomputerjustbythoughts.
 REFERENCES

[1]Openi ngt heBr ai

nGat eSAr chibal d-Nat ur
eRev iewsNeur oscience, 2005
[2]BrainGateneur omot orpr osthesis:f ir
stexperiencebyaper sonwi thbr ainst
em
strokeJPDonoghue, GM Fr i
ehs, AHCapl an,JStein,JA
[3]http://en.
wikipedia.org/wiki/BrainGat e
[4]Hochber g,L.R.,Ser r
uya,M. D.,Fr iehs,G. M.,Mukand,J. A.
,Sal eh,M. ,Caplan,
A.H., Branner,A.,Chen, D.,Penn, R.D., Donoghue, J.P.:Neuronalensembl econt r
ol
ofpr ostheticdevicesbyahumanwi tht etrapl
egia.Nat ur
e442, 164–171( 2006)
[5]TheFut ureofHeal thcare:It
'sHeal th,ThenCar ebyFr ancesJ.Tur i
sco
[6]http://www. brown.edu/ Admi nistration/NewsBur eau/2006-07/ 06-002.html
[7]http://www. cyberkineti
csinc.com/ cont ent
/medi calpr
oducts/braingate.jsp
[8]https://www. brai
ngat e.
or g
[9]https://www. brai
ngat e.
com