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How a paralyzed man moved a robotic arm with his thoughts


A paralyzed man was able to move a robotic arm and fingers simply by imagining himself doing so, with the help of brain signals decoded through a computer.

“This blending of learning between humans and AI is the next phase for these brain-computer interfaces,” said neurologist, Karunesh Ganguly, MD, PhD, a professor of neurology and a member of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. Ganguly then asked the participant to imagine himself making simple movements with his fingers, hands or thumbs over the course of two weeks, while the sensors recorded his brain activity to train the AI. Photo by Noah Berger Months later, the participant was still able to control the robotic arm after a 15-minute “tune-up” to adjust for how his movement representations had drifted since he had begun using the device.

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