Ecobreves – MEXICO: Connecting a Brain to a Computer

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MEXICO CITY, Jun 2 2008 (IPS) - Researchers in Mexico are working on an invention that connects the brain of a disabled person to a computer, which it can give orders just by thinking. People with severe handicaps will be able to move themselves and speak, like moving a wheelchair or translating certain thoughts into text, Oscar Yánez, a researcher in digital processing of biomedical signals and images at the Metropolitan Autonomous University, told Tierramérica.

All mental processes generate electrical impulses, which makes it possible through an interface to interpret them on a computer, explained Yánez.

The connection between the brain and the computer is made with electrodes attached to the scalp. The researches believe it will be useful especially for people with severe mobility problems, but whose mental faculties remain intact.