INTRODUCTION:

MIND READER:BRAINGATE
Mind Reader is a new innovated technology, which got its existence in 2003. With
the help of this technology, the artificial limbs are controlled & synchronized by
the brain.
The device is designed to help those who have lost control of their limbs, such as
patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or spinal cord injury. The
computer chip, which is implanted into the brain, monitors brain activity in the
patient and converts the intention f the user into computer commands. This device
called as, ”BRAIN GATE”,

FATHER OF BRAIN GATE- PROFESSOR JOHN

ORIGIN-RHODE ISLAND (U.S.A.)

WHAT IS A BRAINGATE??
Brain Gate is a brain implant system developed by the bio-tech company cyber kinetics
in 2003 in conjunction with the Department of Neuroscience at brown university. The
device was designed to help those who have lost control of their limbs, or other bodily
functions, such as patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS) or spinal cord injury.
The computer chip, which is implanted into the brain, monitors brain activity in the
patient and converts the intention of the user into computer commands.

Brain gate interface

Dummy illustrating design of brain gate interface

The Brain Gate Neural Interface Device is a proprietary brain-

computer interface that consists of an internal neural signal
sensor and external processors that convert neural signals into an output signal under the
users own control.

Components of brain gate:

1. The chip: A 4-millimeter square silicon chip studded with 100 hair-thin
microelectrodes is embedded in Nagle's primary motor cortex - the region of the brain
responsible for controlling movement.

2. The connector: When Nagle thinks "move cursor up and left" (toward email icon), his
cortical neurons fire in a distinctive pattern; the signal is transmitted through the pedestal
plug attached to his skull.

3. The converter: The signal travels to a shoebox-sized amplifier mounted on Nagle's

wheelchair, where it's converted to optical data and bounced by fiber-optic cable to a
computer.

4. The computer: Brain Gate learns to associate patterns of brain activity with particular
imagined movements - up, down, left, right - and to connect those movements to a cursor.

working of brain gate

 A small chip, the 2mm x 2mm Brain Gate, is surgically implanted on to the
surface of the brain. Extending down into the cortex are hundred thin platinum
tipped electrodes – each a millimeter long and only 90 microns at the base.

 These pick up the brain’s electrical signals which are then transmitted to a
computer via a slender gold wires connected to each individual electrode.

 After implantation, the computer system needs to “learn” what the brain-
generated electrical impulses mean. The predetermined movements in the mind:
move arm left, lift hand, rotate wrist, generated a unique signal that could be
recorded.

 After that, patient is hooked to a joystick via a computer. The computer registers
his now remembered thought patterns and moved the joystick accordingly –
without any physical intervention whatsoever.
Diagram indicating working of brain gate

It can be used to perform basic tasks like opening programs and reading email. He started
by thinking of making movements with a mouse, but now simply “thinks” of a cursor
movement and his brain translates that desire in to electrical impulses that, via the
computer, move the on screen cursor. His brain has assimilated the implant and controls
it as if it’s party of the body – like a hand.

Brain gate converting thoughts into action

Goals and achievements related to brain gate

Goals:
The goal of the Brain Gate program is to develop a fast, reliable and unobtrusive connection
between the brain of a severely disabled person and a personal computer" stated Tim
Surgeon, President and CEO of Cyber kinetics. "We [hope] to provide paralyzed individuals
with a gateway through which they can access the broad capabilities of computers, control
devices in the surrounding environment, and even move their own limbs."

The Brain Gate technology platform was designed to take advantage of the fact that many
patients with motor impairment have an intact brain that can produce movement commands.
This may allow the Brain Gate system to create an output signal directly from the brain,
bypassing the route through the nerves to the muscles that cannot be used in paralyzed
people.

Achievements:
 Using the Brain Gate system in the current human trials, a 25 year old quadriplegic
has successfully been able to switch on lights, adjust the volume on a TV, change
channels and read e-mail using only his brain. Crucially, the patient was able to do
these tasks while carrying on a conversation and moving his head at the same time.
 In addition to real-time analysis of neuron patterns to relay movement, the Brain
gate array is also capable of recording electrical data for later analysis. A potential
use of this feature would be for a [[neurologist]] to study seizure patterns in a
patient with [[epilepsy]].
 According to the Cyber kinetics' website, three patients have been implanted with
the Brain Gate system. The company has confirmed that one patient ([[Matt
Nagle]]) has a spinal cord injury