Image by Getty/Futurism Neuroscience/Brain Science
Stanford researchers have created a brain implant that allows paralyzed men to type up to 90 words per hour by simply thinking about the words.
According to the South China Morning Post, the researchers published their findings in Nature in May. They then presented them at WE Summit hosted by Tencent on Saturday.
Older implants rely on patients moving the cursor with their minds to select characters on a keyboard. The new Stanford neural implant allows a patient to imagine himself typing a word by using his hand. The word was displayed on a screen by an AI that decoded the neural signals.
According to SCMP, the team used the neural implant system and an autocorrect function to achieve a 99 percent accuracy rate. This would have been impressive even on a normal keyboard. The man claims to be the fastest mind-typist in the world.
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According to SCMP, Krishna Shenoy, a Stanford neuroscientist, said that "that's only the tip of an iceberg." "When neuroscience is fully understood, we will be able do better at a wide range of tasks if we can really understand the brain."
Shenoy stated that the greatest challenge for neural implant researchers is now commercialization. This puts him in alignment with companies such as Elon Musk's Neuralink, which aims to move brain implants from medicine into the realms of consumer electronics.
How can you convince people that implanting electrodes into your brain is safe? How can you make expensive neural implant surgery more affordable?
Shenoy believes that private companies will be more willing to invest in its research and development.
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According to SCMP, Shenoy stated that "[It] is] perhaps the most difficult of all [challenges]." "That's why it takes very special people [to] really focus on these issues and invest their money. That's where Elon Musk or Neuralink really make an impact because they're making it possible for many businesses to receive funding [by showing] just how important this area really is."
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