In a novel study, a team of researchers in Germany developed a brain implant that enabled a patient with late-stage amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to spell out his thoughts via auditory neurofeedback, allowing him to successfully communicate that he wanted to listen to Tool — loud.
The 36-year-old man with ALS started working with a research team at the University of Tübingen in 2018, back when he could still move his eyes. (The neurological condition destroys nerves and causes patients to lose control of their muscles as the disease progresses. After they lose the ability to speak, they may be able to communicate with an eye-tracking camera, but that faculty also eventually fades.)
The patient expressed his desire to undergo an invasive surgical procedure in order to potentially maintain communication with his family. After his wife and sister both provided written consent for the surgery, researchers surgically inserted two square electrode arrays into a portion of the brain that controls movement.
The team used neurofeedback, which allows patients to get a real-time measure of whether their attempts to modify their brain signals are succeeding, to work out a system of modifiable audible tones that allowed the patient to communicate full sentences with some degree of reliability.
At the protracted rate of one character per minute, he was able to communicate dozens of thoughts, such as "I love my cool son," and "I would like to listen to the album by Tool loud."
The experts say that the Tool fan's ability to spell has deteriorated, likely due to scar tissue surrounding the implant in addition to the cognitive factors of ALS, and mostly communicates through yes or no questions.
This technological advancement is encouraging for lives affected by ALS everywhere, but unfortunately, scientists are still far from getting it into an assistive tech state that could be purchased by a patient's family. There's s also a whole host of ethical concerns with the procedure. Read more about the study via Science.org.
It is never confirmed in the study's conclusions whether the patient's wish was granted, but we can only go on willfully assuming that they immediately put on his Tool album of choice at maximum volume.
Maynard James Keegan recently took a quick Jenga break during a Tool show and the band made headlines for selling $810 Fear Inoculum vinyl, the backlash eventually convincing them to (slightly) reduce the price to a thrifty $750 USD. Hopefully, they're looking to fund further research with the profits!
The 36-year-old man with ALS started working with a research team at the University of Tübingen in 2018, back when he could still move his eyes. (The neurological condition destroys nerves and causes patients to lose control of their muscles as the disease progresses. After they lose the ability to speak, they may be able to communicate with an eye-tracking camera, but that faculty also eventually fades.)
The patient expressed his desire to undergo an invasive surgical procedure in order to potentially maintain communication with his family. After his wife and sister both provided written consent for the surgery, researchers surgically inserted two square electrode arrays into a portion of the brain that controls movement.
The team used neurofeedback, which allows patients to get a real-time measure of whether their attempts to modify their brain signals are succeeding, to work out a system of modifiable audible tones that allowed the patient to communicate full sentences with some degree of reliability.
At the protracted rate of one character per minute, he was able to communicate dozens of thoughts, such as "I love my cool son," and "I would like to listen to the album by Tool loud."
The experts say that the Tool fan's ability to spell has deteriorated, likely due to scar tissue surrounding the implant in addition to the cognitive factors of ALS, and mostly communicates through yes or no questions.
This technological advancement is encouraging for lives affected by ALS everywhere, but unfortunately, scientists are still far from getting it into an assistive tech state that could be purchased by a patient's family. There's s also a whole host of ethical concerns with the procedure. Read more about the study via Science.org.
It is never confirmed in the study's conclusions whether the patient's wish was granted, but we can only go on willfully assuming that they immediately put on his Tool album of choice at maximum volume.
Maynard James Keegan recently took a quick Jenga break during a Tool show and the band made headlines for selling $810 Fear Inoculum vinyl, the backlash eventually convincing them to (slightly) reduce the price to a thrifty $750 USD. Hopefully, they're looking to fund further research with the profits!
