Restore vision and cure depression: technological breakthroughs in medicine
Science does not stand still and is constantly evolving. Every year, researchers and scientists try to deal with problems that society has not been able to solve for centuries. Thus, in 2021, scientists were able to at least slightly restore the sight of a blind woman with an implant, and they were able to translate the thoughts of a paralyzed man to the text. We have collected three interesting and inspiring stories about the development of world science and medicine.
A brain implant has restored a blind woman’s ability to see a
"Visual Prosthesis" called Moran | Cortivis allowed a blind woman to perceive the contours of objects for the first time in 16 years.
Back in 2003, at the age of 42, Berna Gomez contracted toxic optic neuropathy. This disease destroys the optic nerves that transmit information from the eyes to the brain. Therefore, in just a few days, the woman was completely blind and spent 15 years in complete darkness.
In 2018, when Gomez was 57, she volunteered to become the first volunteer to test a brain implant aimed at restoring her ability to see. Thus, a tiny electrode with a hundred microneedles was implanted in the visual region of the brain. The prototype was approximately 4 mm by 4 mm in size and was removed again six months later.
The device was implanted in a woman in Spain, and for the next six months, Gomez visited the laboratory every day for four hours to take tests and train with a new prosthesis.
At first, Berne could see certain spots of light. Depending on the strength of the stimulation, the spots changed brightness. Then she learned to distinguish lines. Gomez began to see horizontal lines very quickly, and it took months to develop vertical ones.
In the last month of the experiment, the researchers switched to the letters. Stimulation of the electrodes in the brain according to various schemes allowed the woman to identify some letters, such as I, L, C, V and O. Berne even learned to distinguish uppercase and lowercase O.
In the last part of the experiment Gomez wore special glasses with a miniature video camera . This camera scanned objects in front of her and then stimulated various combinations of electrodes in her brain through a prosthesis, thus creating simple visual images.
Stimulation settings for other letters are still unknown, but scientists have found out the main thing: the method of stimulating neurons with electrodes allows you to perceive two-dimensional images. Unfortunately, this cannot completely cure blindness, but it allows a person to distinguish the silhouettes of people, cars, doors, etc.
The glasses eventually allowed Gomez to distinguish the contrasting borders of black and white stripes on cardboard. She could even find the location of a large white square in the left or right half of the computer screen.
Before this prototype becomes available for clinical use, it will need to be tested on more patients over much longer periods of time.
The brain implant translated the paralyzed man’s thoughts into text
The implant, which was implanted in the brain of a paralyzed man, translated his thoughts with 94% accuracy thanks to new technology, with high accuracy, which translates the imaginary handwriting of a person into real text.
Back in 2007, a man was completely paralyzed below the neck due to a spinal cord injury. During the experiment, the patient was asked to imagine that he was writing with an imaginary pen on the same sheet of paper. When he did this, electrodes implanted in the cerebral cortex recorded signals of his brain activity, which were then interpreted by algorithms running on an external computer, and deciphered the trajectory of the pen. Scientists were able to trace 26 letters of the English alphabet and some basic punctuation marks.
Thanks to a system of implants implanted in the brain, which translates his imaginary handwriting into the real text, he was able to convey his thoughts.
"This new system uses both the rich neural activity recorded by the electrodes and the power of language models that, when applied to neuron-decoded letters, can produce fast and accurate text, " said study co-author Frank Willett of Stanford University.
Thus, during the tests, the paralyzed person was able to reach a writing speed of 90 characters per minute (about 18 words per minute) with an accuracy of approximately 94% (and up to 99% accuracy with auto-correction enabled).
"We learned that the brain retains the ability to represent precise movements for a decade after the body itself has lost the ability to perform those movements, " Willett explained.
The researchers said that a similar technique in the future can be used for brain injuries, as well as recovery from stroke.
Scientists have created a brain implant to combat depression
A team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has developed an implant to help patients with major depression. A device the size of a box of matches is installed in patients’ skulls and connected to the brain.
So far, he has only been tested on one patient, Sarah, a woman diagnosed with depression. Scientists drilled holes in her skull and connected small wires to the brain, through which the device sends signals to the brain to stimulate the nervous system. A small box with a battery and a pulse generator was placed on the bone under the hair.
According to researchers, this device sends an electrical impulse when it detects nerve activity in the brain associated with irrational thoughts.
Scientists have reported the discovery of a neuronal biomarker - a special pattern of brain activity that indicates the onset of symptoms of depression. The implant is adjusted so that it responds only when it recognizes this pattern. The device then stimulates another area of the brain, creating a kind of immediate therapy. One year after the operation, the woman feels healthy and says she has no side effects.
"The device restrained my depression, allowing me to return to a better state and restore life," she said.
Sarah said that immediately after the device was connected, she felt euphoric, and her life literally turned upside down. After all, before that the woman tried for a long time unsuccessfully to fight depression.
Doctors have already recruited two people and plan to recruit nine more. Researchers say the technique should be successful among other patients.
Prepared by Anastasia Ishchenko
More news
A brain implant has restored a blind woman’s ability to see a
"Visual Prosthesis" called Moran | Cortivis allowed a blind woman to perceive the contours of objects for the first time in 16 years.
Back in 2003, at the age of 42, Berna Gomez contracted toxic optic neuropathy. This disease destroys the optic nerves that transmit information from the eyes to the brain. Therefore, in just a few days, the woman was completely blind and spent 15 years in complete darkness.
In 2018, when Gomez was 57, she volunteered to become the first volunteer to test a brain implant aimed at restoring her ability to see. Thus, a tiny electrode with a hundred microneedles was implanted in the visual region of the brain. The prototype was approximately 4 mm by 4 mm in size and was removed again six months later.
The device was implanted in a woman in Spain, and for the next six months, Gomez visited the laboratory every day for four hours to take tests and train with a new prosthesis.
At first, Berne could see certain spots of light. Depending on the strength of the stimulation, the spots changed brightness. Then she learned to distinguish lines. Gomez began to see horizontal lines very quickly, and it took months to develop vertical ones.
In the last month of the experiment, the researchers switched to the letters. Stimulation of the electrodes in the brain according to various schemes allowed the woman to identify some letters, such as I, L, C, V and O. Berne even learned to distinguish uppercase and lowercase O.
In the last part of the experiment Gomez wore special glasses with a miniature video camera . This camera scanned objects in front of her and then stimulated various combinations of electrodes in her brain through a prosthesis, thus creating simple visual images.
Stimulation settings for other letters are still unknown, but scientists have found out the main thing: the method of stimulating neurons with electrodes allows you to perceive two-dimensional images. Unfortunately, this cannot completely cure blindness, but it allows a person to distinguish the silhouettes of people, cars, doors, etc.
The glasses eventually allowed Gomez to distinguish the contrasting borders of black and white stripes on cardboard. She could even find the location of a large white square in the left or right half of the computer screen.
Before this prototype becomes available for clinical use, it will need to be tested on more patients over much longer periods of time.
The brain implant translated the paralyzed man’s thoughts into text
The implant, which was implanted in the brain of a paralyzed man, translated his thoughts with 94% accuracy thanks to new technology, with high accuracy, which translates the imaginary handwriting of a person into real text.
Back in 2007, a man was completely paralyzed below the neck due to a spinal cord injury. During the experiment, the patient was asked to imagine that he was writing with an imaginary pen on the same sheet of paper. When he did this, electrodes implanted in the cerebral cortex recorded signals of his brain activity, which were then interpreted by algorithms running on an external computer, and deciphered the trajectory of the pen. Scientists were able to trace 26 letters of the English alphabet and some basic punctuation marks.
Thanks to a system of implants implanted in the brain, which translates his imaginary handwriting into the real text, he was able to convey his thoughts.
"This new system uses both the rich neural activity recorded by the electrodes and the power of language models that, when applied to neuron-decoded letters, can produce fast and accurate text, " said study co-author Frank Willett of Stanford University.
Thus, during the tests, the paralyzed person was able to reach a writing speed of 90 characters per minute (about 18 words per minute) with an accuracy of approximately 94% (and up to 99% accuracy with auto-correction enabled).
"We learned that the brain retains the ability to represent precise movements for a decade after the body itself has lost the ability to perform those movements, " Willett explained.
The researchers said that a similar technique in the future can be used for brain injuries, as well as recovery from stroke.
Scientists have created a brain implant to combat depression
A team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has developed an implant to help patients with major depression. A device the size of a box of matches is installed in patients’ skulls and connected to the brain.
So far, he has only been tested on one patient, Sarah, a woman diagnosed with depression. Scientists drilled holes in her skull and connected small wires to the brain, through which the device sends signals to the brain to stimulate the nervous system. A small box with a battery and a pulse generator was placed on the bone under the hair.
According to researchers, this device sends an electrical impulse when it detects nerve activity in the brain associated with irrational thoughts.
Scientists have reported the discovery of a neuronal biomarker - a special pattern of brain activity that indicates the onset of symptoms of depression. The implant is adjusted so that it responds only when it recognizes this pattern. The device then stimulates another area of the brain, creating a kind of immediate therapy. One year after the operation, the woman feels healthy and says she has no side effects.
"The device restrained my depression, allowing me to return to a better state and restore life," she said.
Sarah said that immediately after the device was connected, she felt euphoric, and her life literally turned upside down. After all, before that the woman tried for a long time unsuccessfully to fight depression.
Doctors have already recruited two people and plan to recruit nine more. Researchers say the technique should be successful among other patients.
Prepared by Anastasia Ishchenko More news