用大脑来控制机械手臂(1/2)

英语自学网

Cathy Hutchinson is a tetraplegic. She has not been able to move her arms, legs or speak since suffering a stroke nearly 15 years ago. Recently, she learned how to control a robotic arm using her thoughts. She now can use brain activity to serve herself a drink.
The American woman is one of two people who took part in a research project known as BrainGate2. The researchers have spent years studying how to help people who are paralyzed regain movement in their arms and legs.
John Donoghue is a neuroscientist with Brown University and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He also was part of the project.
"People who are paralyzed have their brain disconnected from their body. So they are not able to go out and do everyday things that you and I can do, like reach for a glass of water or scratch your nose. So our idea is to bypass that damaged nerve system and go directly from the brain to the outside world so the brain signals can, not control muscles, but control machines or devices like a computer or a robotic limb."
The two paralyzed people had small sensors connected to the part of the brain that controls movement. The devices  measured brain activity and sent that information to a computer.凯茜·哈钦森是个四肢瘫痪者。自从15年前中风之后，她的胳膊和腿就无法活动了，也不能说话了。最近，她学会了如何用她的意念去控制机器手臂。现在她能够通过大脑活动喂自己喝饮料了。
这位女士是“大脑门2”项目的两名参与者之一。研究者已经花费多年来研究，如何帮助瘫痪者恢复胳膊和腿的活动能力。
约翰·多诺霍是布朗大学和退伍军人事务部一名神经系统科学家，他也参与了这个项目。
“很多瘫痪者的大脑和身体其他神经系统部分的连接已经毁坏了，所以他们不能够像你我一样走出去做一些日常的事情，比如去拿杯水或者刮鼻子。所以我们的想法是避开受损的神经系统直接从大脑连接到外界，这样就能使大脑信号像电脑或者机械臂一样，控制机器或者装置，而不是控制肌肉。”
这两名瘫痪者身上安装了小型传感器，与控制动作的脑部相连。这些装置测量大脑活动并把这些信息传送给电脑。