“At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable.”
– Christopher Reeves
I was really impacted this week when I watched Austin Whitney, a paralyzed UC Berkeley student walk across the stage to receive his diploma. Austin was paralyzed in 2007 as the result of a car accident. He never imagined he would walk again, but through the use of a new technological device, he was able to stand and walk again. He was able to do this using an exoskeleton. This exoskeleton is a mechanical device that can be strapped onto the body and then via an onboard computer can be used to ambulate. The exoskeleton was developed at the UC Berkeley Lab through DARPA funding. The following description of the exoskeleton comes from the company's website:
"This exoskeleton, known as BLEEX (Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeletons) consists of a pair of bionic legs that assist a wearer in locomotion and in the support of heavy loads. The BLEEX project has been funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) since 2000 and the first BLEEX, with a carrying capacity of 75 pounds, was unveiled in 2003."
Being funded by DARPA this was primarily developed for military use to allow a soldier to have the ability to carry up to a 200 lb payload for long stretches of time. This bionic exoskeleton relieves the load of the pack and facilitates motion with the aid of the human. Although this was developed primarily for military use, the healthcare applications are transformational. Because the exoskeleton was developed to assist in ambulation this has tremendous opportunities in the healthcare field where ambulation has been ended or impacted due to physical trauma or genital defects.
The current healthcare related application of the exoskeleton is in rehabilitation centers. It is used to facilitate re-training and rehabilitation of gait and motion. The onboard computer picks up muscle stimulation from the arms and then directs the lower extremity exoskeleton in motion based on those arm muscle stimulations. While this technology is still in it's infancy, it's not difficult to imagine how this innovation will evolve.
While this technology works for paraplegics, what about quadriplegics? The current exoskeleton only delivers results via existing muscle stimulation. However, in a quadriplegic the arm muscle stimulation is not available. To make this product adaptable for quadriplegics requires that the trigger mechanism be modified from muscle stimulation to brain wave stimulation for communication with the exoskeleton's computer.
I began researching brain wave stimulation control devices, and found many and varied companies around the world are working on this technology. A simplistic example of this comes from a Japanese company called Necomimi. They have developed a headband that reads brainwaves and translates them into motion; moving cat ears on the headband. Necomimi neurowear promotional video:
While this technology was developed for a fashion application, it represents the possibilities of adaption of this technology to other purposes and demonstrates the basic capabilities.
While this technology was developed for a fashion application, it represents the possibilities of adaption of this technology to other purposes and demonstrates the basic capabilities.
A more advanced example of this neurotechnology is the neuroheadset commercially offered by a company called Emotiv:
(This 10 minute video demonstrates how this technology works. In minute 9 there is a demonstration of the headset controlling a wheelchair strictly based on facial movements.) The Emotiv neuroheadset interprets brainwaves and transmits them to a computer that translates them into configured instructions for the computer to execute. The future lies in integrating these two technologies, and expanding the robotic capabilities of the exoskeleton from walking to all movement.
- Imagine the neuroheadset controlling the exoskeleton.
- Imagine the neuroheadset controlling and exoskeleton with robotic arms.
- Imagine a world that gives motion, function, and freedom to anyone impacted by paralysis.
“According to a study initiated by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, there are nearly 1 in 50 people living with paralysis -- approximately 6 million people.”**
These revolutionary innovations have the ability to improve the quality of life of these 6 million people. This is the dream that Christopher Reeves had, and I hope to be around when it becomes the inevitable.
**http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.mtKZKgMWKwG/b.5184189/k.5587/Paralysis_Facts__Figures.htm
