
Brown University creates first wireless, implanted brain-computer interface - Libertatea
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/149879-brown-university-creates-first-wireless-implanted-brain-computer-interface?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=brown-university-creates-first-wireless-implanted-brain-computer-interface#.UTSlVUbrm4w.hackernews
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jph
Today (Monday Mar. 4) is a neuroscience conference at Stanford featuring one
of Brown's leading researchers in neuro-engineering. The keynote is "Listening
to Neurons: Toward the Restoration of Communication and Mobility". The
conference is free and may still have openings:
[http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a...](http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e68tmci57ce40d3a&llr=lpsht7cab)

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namank
Thank you!

Is this streamed or available for viewing later?

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caycep
Not sure, but the list of speakers are here if you want to pubmed them. Focus
on Leigh Hochberg and Krishna Shenoy, they are 2 of the PIs of the BrainGate
consortium.
[http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102618...](http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102618806763-94/Neuromodulation2013_IN_v6.pdf)

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blhack
Implanted BCI stuff isn't new.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrocorticography>

Also, these things are read only. They don't implant thoughts in your brain.

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caycep
My understanding is that the braingate array (and their competitor, the Utah
Array) have much finer electrodes than eCoG's which are macroelectrodes, so
you can get a finer array of local field potential recordings or even single
neuron spike recordings.

Implanted BCI isn't new, but neither are computers, and both have incredible
amounts of room to improve and innovate.

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trebor
Lets see...

Streaming ads into your dreams. Hacking your friend's implant/brain to give
them nightmares. "Thought Logging" what a political opponent thinks of you.

I can foresee all of these. Does this give no one else the willies?

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icebraining
Sounds like a buy-bomb from TRANSMET. 'Though those didn't need implants, just
a TV ;)

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subb
I foresee inductive charging pillows.

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obviouslygreen
Just don't let your pillow connect to your wireless network, otherwise you
might find yourself dreaming of that new Apple product...

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otoburb
What would it actually take to get this type of device approved for human use
in terms of regulatory approval? The article doesn't go into details. I have a
heuristic that projects at least 10 years into the future for drugs/devices at
this early stage of development assuming funding is secured, but not sure if
this still holds.

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mrsebastian
It's usually pretty quick/easy to get stuff approved for in-lab, early human
trials. But yeah, much longer until it's available to the public.

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otoburb
>>It's usually pretty quick/easy to get stuff approved for in-lab, early human
trials.

I'm surprised -- I thought that even if you had an eager group of volunteers
for in-lab, early human trials you still needed to jump through understandably
onerous red tape and provide reams of documentation and evidence that the
device was safe.

Or does signing a (supposedly ironclad) waiver absolve your right as an early
human trial participant to sue in the event of failure or adverse side
effects?

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caycep
shortcut is a humanitarian device exemption (HDE) if you have some good
preliminary data, not sure what the exact rules are.

