Do as I Think Machine...

Prosthetics have undoubtedly come a long way since the wooden peg-legs that we oft see portrayed by pirate captains of the past, yet another development might completely overhaul the world of not only prosthetics, but medicine and technology overall. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have opened up a brand new kind of machine/brain interface by making computer chips that can be wired using live nerve cells. The researchers created this hybrid nerve-chip with silicon and germanium layered into tubes. These tubes were just big enough for the tendrils of the nerve cells to penetrate, yet small enough so the cell body itself was restricted. When first tested on mice, these tubes were readily used by the nerve cells, threading their tendrils through them "even through complex geometries like helical curves". Although more research must be done as to how the cells are communicating with each other, the simple fact that the tendrils of the nerve cells follow along the tubes is an extremely exciting prospect. This opens up doors for testing neurological drugs on neural pathways, as well as creating "Skywalker-esque control of artificial limbs". A direct line from a prosthetic limb to the somatic nerves that control it would completely revolutionize the world of prosthetics, allowing for a fluid and responsive control of motion thought before to be impossible.

This article was thrilling to me because of my interest in the field of prosthetics, as well as the knowledge that our technology is growing so fast. With advancements in this brain/machine interface, we could eventually replace limbs with almost no loss of control or coordination whatsoever, making a huge number of amputees lives easier and more fulfilling.

URL: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-03/silicon-chips-wired-nerve-cells-could-enable-new-brain-machine-interfaces