A new type of brain-to-brain interface (BMI) that is so minimally invasive can read the brain’s secrets using ultrasound technology.
A collaborative team of researchers at Caltech developed the system capable of reading brain activity according to motion design.
The team’s review was published in the journal Neuron on Monday 22 March.
Neuroscientists working on BMI to map brain activity to corresponding movements get a field day thanks to this new study. These devices typically read and interpret brain activity and connect it to a computer or device.
However, these devices usually require invasive brain surgery, in which many patients are reluctant to participate.
The news of this new technology, which uses ultrasound action technology (fUS) to accurately map cloud activity from its source deep inside the brain at a resolution of 100 micrometers.
“The most interesting thing is that FUS is a young device with great potential – this is just our first step in bringing a high – performance, less aggressive BMI to more people, “Sumner said. Norman, a graduate of Andersen’s laboratory and co-author of the new study.
Ultrasound and imaging technology works by emitting pulses of high-frequency sound, interpreting the researchers, and then measuring how these sound vibrations move back through material. , as human material. This type of imaging is already widely used to insert images of a fetus into the utero, for example.
The team realized that this imaging technique could help predict movement and behavior.
As Mikhail Shapiro, said Professor of chemical engineering and Researcher of the Heritage Medical Research Institute and part of the research team “This technique produced detailed images of cloud signal dynamics in our target area that were not visible by other noninvasive methods such as fMRI. “
“We brought out a level of detail coming to electrophysiology, but with a much more non-invasive approach.”
Making images of the brains of non-human primates
The team tested their approach on non-human primates, teaching them to perform simple tasks such as moving their eyes and arms in a specific direction after getting things done. The primates were observed using the fUS technology while performing these functions, measuring brain activity in the posterior parietal cortex – the part of our brain that projects movement.
The team wanted to see if fUS images could also be used to determine the intentions of the primates before performing their actions.
The system was then trained with a machine learning algorithm using ultrasound data collected in real time, and within a few seconds, the algorithm was able to predict the next movement of the primers or -human.
Richard Andersen, who was part of the study, said that for this method to work “Only a small, ultrasound-transparent window needs to be inserted into the skull; this surgery is much less invasive than is essential for the introduction of electricity. ”
This new approach opens many doors for neuroscientists working in improving BMI, and significantly reduces invasive surgery. The next steps involve human experiments, to see if these images and predictions also work for reading human brains.