Paralyzed man walks after bluetooth connects his brain and spine - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 11:47:20 am
content: "A man paralyzed by a cycling accident is able to walk again after an experimental operation by neuroscientists and surgeons in Switzerland."

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 08:19:11 am
content: Amazing technology, I wonder what the route to mass usage would look like? It seems to be highly specialised right now, and requires a long training period, but even if you had to spend 100kEUR on every patient, it would be worth it for allowing someone to be able to do normal daily tasks again.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 10:12:37 am
content: Quote from: tom66 on May 31, 2023, 08:19:11 amThe technology behind it is pretty old though. 15+ years ago I had a short venture into brain-machine interfacing which already showed compelling demonstrations albeit the heavy lifting was done using a PC with a standard EEG digitizer. With embedded platforms becoming more powerfull, these systems can be made portable. So mass usage is pretty close.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2023, 08:20:01 am
content: What a fascinating success story! I'm sure they will get much better results over time and with new techniques.

author: Berni
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2023, 09:16:14 am
content: Nice stuff.Tho bluetooth is not really the kind of tech id want for something like that. Never had bluetooth devices work as reliably as proprietary RF solutions.Then again the 'bluetooth' could have also been made up by the journalists as an easy way to explain to a layman that it is wireless.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2023, 10:03:09 am
content: I'd take a guess that the prototypes are Bluetooth (because it's easy enough to work with for R&D) but a production device would almost certainly use a private RF band. That said, there are already Bluetooth-enabled pacemakers, so who knows.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2023, 12:06:04 pm
content: Quote from: tom66 on June 02, 2023, 10:03:09 amThe RF SOCs I've used, they could be easily reprogrammed to use 802.15.4 or Zigbee or proprietary protocols.Even if it isn't the FW and the communication for an RF link is the least complicated part of a project like this.

author: eugene
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2023, 01:31:37 pm
content: Looking beyond the amazing accomplishment, consider the possibility of hacking the device. Remote control person!

author: voltsandjolts
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 02, 2023, 01:46:22 pm
content: Getting pwned just got real personal.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2023, 03:38:38 pm
content: Quotewas my first thought too.an image of the poor chap trying to walk to the shop whilst the local yooths with there mobile phones make him moon walk like michele jackson keeps coming to mind

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2023, 11:59:08 pm
content: 100k is peanuts for making someone walk, the amount of money that is lost for everyone by someone that is crippled is very high.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2023, 10:26:09 am
content: Quote from: tszaboo on June 02, 2023, 12:06:04 pmWell, either way I'd hope they'd use a dedicated band and not 2.4GHz ISM.I often listen to podcasts while making breakfast and the Alexa-phone bluetooth link drops out almost always when using the microwave.Imagine not being able to move because of RF interference - could be very serious. I'd actually say two independent bands should be used to maximise the chance of transmission in crowded RF environments, or at least some kind of wide band frequency hopping.Edit: in fact, thinking about this, it's the perfect application for something like UWB. Very short range transmission, very wide bandwidth with frequency hopping. Already used for things like intra-soldier wireless.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2023, 10:29:30 am
content: Quote from: tom66 on June 03, 2023, 10:26:09 amI'm not exactly sure why they need wireless in the first place. Though having wires sawn underneath your skin is kinda cyberpunk, but they would be connecting like 200mm with this link? Depending on where the injury is.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2023, 10:32:14 am
content: Quote from: tszaboo on June 03, 2023, 10:29:30 amIf the implant is in the brain and the spine, perhaps a cable directly through the body carries risk of transmitting an infection? Blood-brain barrier is an important component of the immune system.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2023, 08:08:29 pm
content: For anyone willing to go past the video, the official press release is there:https://www.chuv.ch/fr/chuv-home/espace-pro/journalistes/communiques-de-presse/detail/brain-computer-interface-bci-enables-thought-controlled-walking-after-spinal-cord-injuryAnd the company's website:https://www.neurorestore.swiss/The paper published in Nature:https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06094-5They indeed used Bluetooth, although I'm guessing this is not so much because of its particular relevance for the task at hand, but rather because it was easily available and they are still at the experimentation stage.And yes, running cables from the brain all the way down to the middle of the back would be a nightmare.

author: Ed.Kloonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2023, 10:26:40 pm
content: Not trying to sound mean but I hope this fellow doesn't turn up at one of those hacker conferences. Can you imagine?

author: .RC.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2023, 02:30:18 am
content: It would give new meaning to doing the robot dance.