Issue - 634 (31)
29 Sep. - 5 Oct. 2015
Brain-computer link enables paralysed US man to walk LOS ANGELES A brain-to-computer technology that can translate thoughts into leg movements has enabled a man paralysed from the waist down by a spinal cord injury to become the first such patient to walk without the use of robotics, doctors in Southern California reported on Wednesday. The slow, halting first steps of the 28-year-old paraplegic were documented in a preliminary study published in the Britishbased Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, along with a YouTube video. The feat was accomplished using a system allowing the brain to bypass the injured spinal cord and instead send messages through a computer algorithm to electrodes placed around the patient’s knees to trigger controlled leg muscle movements. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, say the outcome marks a promising but incremental achievement in the
development of brain-computer interfaces that may one day help stroke and spinal injury victims regain some mobility. Dr. An Do, a study co-author, said clinical applications were many years away. Results of the UC Irvine research still need to be replicated in other patients and greatly refined. Nevertheless, the study proved it possible “to restore intuitive, brain-controlled walking after a complete spinal cord injury,” said biomedical engineer Zoran Nenadic, who led the research. The steps taken a year ago by the experiment’s subject, former graduate student Adam Fritz, who injured his back in a motorcycle accident, appear modest as seen in the video. Fritz propelled himself over a distance of 3.6 meters (11.8 feet) across the floor of UC Irvine’s iMove Lab, though his weight was partially supported by an overhead suspension harness and a walker he grasped to keep his body upright, researchers said.
The weight support was necessary because the patient lacked any sensation in his legs or feet, Do explained. Still, the experiment built on earlier UC Irvine studies in which brain signals were transmitted to a robotic prosthesis attached to the patient’s legs to produce movement, Do said. In previous research by other scientists, a brain-computer interface has been used to allow paralysed patients to grasp a cup of coffee with a robotic arm and raise the beverage to their mouths. The latest study, which began about five years after Fritz became paralysed, involved months of mental training in which he practiced thinking about walking to produce necessary leg-moving brain waves. Those signals were then picked up by an electroencephalogram (EEG) he wore as a cap and were transmitted to a computer for processing by a special algorithm that could isolate the messages related only to leg motion and
convert them to signals that would stimulate the patient’s muscles to walk.The scientists and patient first practiced with a virtual-reality-like video game in which Fritz was trained to control a walking avatar. He also underwent extensive physical rehab to strengthen his muscles.Fritz next practiced walking in the actual lab while suspended slightly above the
floor. On his 20th outing, he finally took his first real steps on the ground.Researchers hope to refine the technology by miniaturizing the EEG component enough to be implanted inside the patient’s skull or brain, allowing for clearer reception of the neural messages and perhaps the delivery of pressure sensation from sensors in the foot back to the brain.
Pope urges US action Indian-origin man hatched plan on climate change to rob own gas station in US WASHINGTON Pope Francis on Wednesday urged the United States to help tackle climate change at a “critical moment of history” and
called on Americans to build a truly tolerant and inclusive society. In a speech on the White House South Lawn, the Argentine pontiff lauded President Barack Obama’s efforts to reduce air pollution. “It seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our common home, we are living at a critical moment of history,” the pope said at a welcoming ceremony for his first visit to the United States. The pope also invoked America’s best known civil rights leader, the late Rev. Martin Luther King, to make his point on the environment. About 15,000 people who gathered in bright sunshine on the South Lawn watched Obama greet the 78-year-old pope, who departed from his usual practice and addressed the crowd in English. A frequent critic of the damage caused to the world’s poor and the environment by capitalism’s excesses, Francis this year released a papal document, or encyclical, demanding swift action on climate change. Obama, whose
plans for a climate change bill were thwarted in Congress early in his presidency, said he shared the pope’s concerns about the environment. “Holy Father, you remind us that we have a sacred obligation to protect our planet God’s magnificent gift to us. We support your call to all world leaders to support the communities most vulnerable to a changing climate and to come together to preserve our precious world for future generations,” Obama said. Francis and Obama were to hold talks in the White House after the ceremony. Both men see eye-to-eye on issues like climate change and defense of the poor but hold different views on abortion rights and gay marriage. The pope paraphrased King’s 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech, saying that the world has “defaulted on a promissory note” to the planet and millions of marginalized people. “American Catholics are committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive, to safeguarding the rights of individuals and communities, and to rejecting every form of unjust discrimination,” he said. Francis gave his support to traditional marriage in his remarks, pointing out that he will travel to Philadelphia later in his six-day visit to the United States for a meeting of Catholics “to celebrate and support the institutions of marriage and the family.” After the White House meeting, Francis will parade through downtown Washington before a crowd expected to reach tens of thousands.
NEW YORK An Indian-origin owner of a gas station in the US has been charged with planning a robbery in his business by hiring a man for US $1,500 and asking him to use a toy gun.Pareshbhai R Patel, 40, asked another man to use a toy gun to rob his Shell gas station in Sandwich Town in Massachusetts in exchange for US $1,500. Police thwarted his robbery-for-hire plot, which was supposed to happen within the next few days, by secretly recording him, the Daily Chronicle reported on Thursday citing court records.Patel is charged with solicitation to commit an armed robbery and solicitation to commit an aggravated robbery. The most serious charge, solicitation to commit an armed robbery, is punishable by four to 15 years
in prison.He was released from DeKalb County Jail on Thursday after posting US $5,000 bail.Specific details of the crime, including when it would happen, what would be said, and how the individual would be paid, were recorded using special
equipment.Patel admitted to planning the robbery during questioning by police, according to the court records. He is scheduled to appear in court on October 27. It is yet not clear why Patel hatched the plan for robbery at his own gas station.
Facebook dealt blow in privacy fight
Washington A privacy campaigner has scored a legal victory that could bolster his attempts to prevent Facebook from being able to pass EU citizens’ data to the
US authorities. An opinion issued by the European Court of Justice says that current data-sharing rules between the 28-nation bloc and the US are “invalid”.
The decision could affect other tech firms’ abilities to send Europeans’ information to US data centres. However, it is not a final judgement. Although the EU’s highest court tends to follow the opinions of its legal adviser, the 15 judges involved have yet to issue a conclusive ruling of their own on the matter. Even so, Max Schrems - the activist who prompted the case - suggests there could be far-reaching consequences. “Companies that participate in US mass surveillance and provide, for example, cloud services within the EU and rely on data centres in the US may now have to invest in secure data centres within the European Union,” he said. “This could be a major issue for Apple.