Music is all in the mind: A brain–computer interface allows paralysed patients to play music with brainpower alone.

The development of this brain-computer interface could work wonders for improving patient morale and putting a feeling of control back into the life of a patient who has become paralyzed for one reason or another. This brain-computer interface allows a patient to play music simply by thinking about it. The interface uses EEG (electroencephalography) to pick up the faint neural signals from a patient focusing on a selection of notes displayed on a screen. The focus on a particular note creates a distinctive and detectable pattern in the EEG signal, which then triggers the corresponding musical event. The patient directs their attention at one of the musical notes displayed on the screen, and the intensity, or loudness, of the musical note can be altered by the intensity of attention focused on that particular note. Since the system relies on eye movement for the patient to be able to focus and devote their attention to a particular note, this interface requires that patients be able to control their eye movements. Not only is this new interface innovative, but it could beginning of a new wave of technologies to be developed to assist those who have difficulty performing basic tasks on their own.

This article was very interesting for me because of the implications it has for possible future technology. Maybe I can someday do my laundry by simply thinking about it.

Article:
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110318/full/news.2011.113.html