Brain controlled car steers, accelerates, brakes

AutoNOMOS and the Freie Universität Berlin  are developing BrainDriver, the first car that steers, accelerates, and brakes based on its driver’s thoughts. In a recent experiment, Henrik Matzke drove a car at speeds up to 31 mph.

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First Tests of Thought-Controlled Aircraft Successful

Pilots of the future could be able to control their aircraft by merely thinking commands. Scientists of the Technische Universität München and the TU Berlin have now demonstrated the feasibility of flying via brain control – with astonishing accuracy.
(Photo : Courtesy A. Heddergott/TU München ) 

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Mapping brain activity with molecular precision

A new technique allows neuroscientists to precisely track neural communication in the brain over time, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) along with a specialized molecular MRI contrast agent.

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Sugar-powered biobattery has 10 times the energy storage of lithium: Your smartphone might soon run on enzymes

Researchers at Virginia Tech have successfully created a sugar-powered fuel cell that has an energy storage density of 596 amp-hours per kilo — or “one order of magnitude” higher than lithium-ion batteries. This fuel cell is refillable with a solution of maltodextrin, and its only by products are electricity and water. The chief researcher, Dr. Zhang, says the tech could be commercialized in as soon as three years.

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The brain can process images seen for just 13 milliseconds

Neuroscientists have found that the human brain can process entire images that the eye sees for as little as 13 milliseconds — the first evidence of such rapid processing speed.

That speed is far faster than the 100 milliseconds suggested by previous studies. In the new study, which appears in the journal Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, researchers asked subjects to look for a particular type of image, such as “picnic” or “smiling couple,” as they viewed a series of six or 12 images, each presented for between 13 and 80 milliseconds.

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Neural prosthesis restores normal behavior after brain injury

A new study published in PNAS this month reported used of Brain Machine Interface to successfully restore behavior, in this case, the ability to reach through a narrow opening and grasp food, in a brain-injured rat. Ultimately, the team hopes to develop a device that rapidly and substantially improves function after brain injury in humans.

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3D printer creates realistic neurosurgical models for training

A new multi-material 3D printer was used to create realistic, low-cost model of the skull for use by students in practicing neurosurgical techniques. The model uses a variety of materials that simulate the various consistencies and densities of human tissues encountered during neurosurgery.

Neurosurgery is a difficult discipline to master. Trainees may spend as many as 10 years after graduation from medical school developing and honing their surgical skills before they can be designated as proficient in their specialty. The greater the number and variety of neurosurgical training sessions, the better the training experience.

However, the researchers say, it’s difficult to find suitable simulation models that offer accuracy and realism for neurosurgical training while keeping training costs down.

Three-dimensional printers have been used to create models of normal and pathological human tissues and organs for physician training and patient instruction for some time.  Until recently, however, only one material could be used in the creation of models, which is of little value for hands-on training.

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Mind-controlled robots in manufacturing, medicine

University at Buffalo researchers are developing brain-computer interface (BCI) devices to mentally control robots. “The technology has practical applications that we’re only beginning to explore,” said Thenkurussi “Kesh” Kesavadas, PhD, UB professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of UB’s Virtual Reality Laboratory. “For example, it could help paraplegic patients to control assistive devices, or it could help factory workers perform advanced manufacturing tasks.”

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Does your brain see things you don’t?

A new study indicates that our brains perceive objects in everyday life that we may not be consciously aware of.

Study participants’ brainwaves captured using EEG indicated that even if a person never consciously recognized the shapes on the outside of the image, their brains still processed those shapes to the level of understanding their meaning.

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A Brain-Machine Interface for Control of Medically-Induced Comma

Researchers have developed a brain-machine interface (BMI) that monitors a patient’s brain activity with EEG and adjusts the anesthetic infusion rate to precisely control the level of brain activation in a medically induced coma or for general anesthesia, according to a study published online in the journal PLoS Computational Biology.

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