[games_access] Interesting News Bit

[Reid Kimball]

I think the problem with the wearable devices is that they aren't
sensitive enough to pick up the deeper brain signals. This article
mentions the doctors had to perform surgery to implant the device on
the brain. So, other than surgery, perhaps the tech isn't ready yet.

-Reid

On 10/27/06, Robert Florio <arthit73 at cablespeed.com> wrote:
> Is the Cyberkinetics Co. the same people that make the brain fingers black
> strap that goes around the forhead to play video games?  I really wish they
> somebody would develop that strap into a playable video game especially for
> using devices like controlling wheelchairs and robotic arms that would be so
> cool.
>
> Robert
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org]
> On Behalf Of hinn at uiuc.edu
> Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2006 9:44 PM
> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List
> Subject: [games_access] Interesting News Bit
>
> This just in from the AP -- sounds like we need to check out these
> researchers at Wash U and invite them to the SIG! :)
>
> - Michelle
>
> Scientists Study Brain Using Video Game
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
> By JEFF DOUGLAS Associated Press Writer
>
> October 26,2006 | ST. LOUIS -- The teenager jukes missiles and blasts aliens
> in the video game. But it's his brain, not his thumbs, doing all the work.
> The 14-year-old, part of a study at Washington University, played the
> old-school video game "Space Invaders" by simply using his brain as a
> controller.
>
> Researchers hope the study ultimately leads to development of more advanced
> devices that use brain commands to control things such as artificial limbs
> and wheelchairs.
>
> "My real motivation for this is helping people with disabilities," said Dr.
> Eric Leuthardt, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the university's
> School of Medicine. "We chose to do a video game because we knew a teenage
> patient would be into it."
>
> The teen, who did not want his name used, suffers from severe epilepsy and
> was experiencing daily seizures. Neurosurgeons had to remove a piece of his
> skull to treat a small part of the brain causing the seizures.
>
> Researchers knew that with the brain exposed for the operation, they had a
> rare opportunity to use it for a study of ultrahigh brain frequencies.
> Leuthardt invited the teen to participate, and he agreed. The study is the
> first of its kind on an adolescent, Leuthardt said.
>
> The teen was hospitalized to wait for a seizure to happen so doctors could
> locate the problem and treat it.
>
> Wires attached to the surface of the teen's brain sent electric signals to a
> computer to help them locate what part of the brain was causing the seizures
> and remove it.
>
> Using those same wires, the teen was ready to try "Space Invaders," an early
> video game in which the player tries to shoot down invading aliens amid a
> counterattack.
>
> At first, the teen tapped his right hand to move his spacecraft one way, and
> moved his tongue to move it another. Eventually, he was able to make those
> movements on the video screen simply by using his brain. The "Space
> Invaders" laser cannon fired continuously.
>
> Within hours, the teen shot his way to the third level of the game.
>
> "The real breakthrough with this project is the focus on higher frequencies
> of the brain. That's where the secrets are," said Daniel Moran, an assistant
> professor of biomedical engineering also involved in the multidiscipline
> study.
>
> Leuthardt said it was too early tell, but it appeared the teenager could
> master commands more quickly than adults.
>
> Washington University did similar experiments in 2004 with adults. In that
> experiment, participants used only their brains to control a game similar to
> the old arcade game "Pong."
>
> The study was exciting news for John Donoghue, co-founder of Cyberkinetics
> Neurotechnology Systems. His Foxborough, Mass.-based company researches
> alternative ways for the brain to communicate to the outside world using
> devices that translate the brain's electric activity.
>
> Cyberkinetics was among the first to prove that a quadriplegic can drive a
> wheelchair with his thoughts and a mute person can communicate sentences on
> a computer without saying a word.
>
> "The idea of replacing missing biological connections with a physical bridge
> will be moving very fast in the coming years with more research like this,"
> Donoghue said.
> .......................................
> these are mediocre times and people are
> losing hope. it's hard for many people
> to believe that there are extraordinary
> things inside themselves, as well as
> others. i hope you can keep an open
> mind.
>  -- "unbreakable"
> .......................................
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