A British engineer has devloped a microchip which has the potential to change the lives of paraplegics with its Blue-tooth style technology.
Reported in The Telegraph today, Dr Sprately, has created a chip which can be implanted onto the brain’s surface and controlled by thought alone.
Paraplegics may have lost the ability to move their limbs, but electronic impulses are still produced by their brain when they try and move. This new microchip is able to capture the electronic impulses and transmit them wirelessly to a receiver housed in a simple computer potentially allowing paraplegics to control a range of simple devices.
The technology was developed by Sprately whilst he was studying for a PhD at Birmingham University and according to The Telegraph article, it is hoped that “paraplegics, amputees or those with motor neurone disease, such as Stephen Hawking, could be able to operate light switches, PCs and even cars by the power of thought alone.”
Microchips similar to these could be implanted in the brains of paraplegic patients - Image courtesy of David Henry
The chips can be implanted in the brain using minimally-invasive surgery and pick up signals from the brain’s motor cortex capturing the paralysed patient’s ‘thought’ as they imagine to use their limbs.
Dr Sprately now works for specialist engineering company 42 Technology, who are based in Cambridgshire, and was awarded the MediMaton prize by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.