BRAIN IMPLANTS LET PARALYZED PEOPLE USE TABLETS TO SEND TEXTS AND STREAM MUSIC
A
recent study conducted on three people, two men and a woman with paralysis below the neck reveals how they were able to use unmodified computer tablets to text friends, stream music and browse the internet using an electrode array system called BrainGate2. This is a type of device that eavesdrop on neural activity of those who are paralysed and helps them to perform the above said activities. The results of this study show that neural signals can be harnessed to directly allow movement and were published in the November 2018 issue of PLOS One. The three people involved in the study had electrode grids implanted over part of their motor cortex, an area of the brain that helps control movement which picked up neural activity indicating that the participants wanted to move the cursor. Those patterns were then sent to a virtual mouse that was wirelessly paired to the tablet. These three people used nothing more than their intentions to move the cursor to perform seven common digital tasks including web browsing,
sending e-mails. One participant looked up orchid care, ordered groceries online and even played a digital piano. The system even allowed two participants to chat with each other in real-time. The USP of this study is that the researchers used tablets with standard settings and no modifications, shortcuts, or alterations of features to make typing or navigation easier although a few basic tweaks could make the system even more accessible to the users.
The findings could have a major impact on the lives of those who are affected by some neurologic disease, injury or limb loss. The results of this study demonstrate how communication, mobility and independence can be partially restored to those with otherwise limited control over their environment. There is also no dire need to use expensive or specialised equipment for such cases making it readily available to more such candidates. SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
SENSORS TO DETECT MILK ADULTERATION......
A
ccording to a recent research published in the Food Analytical Methods Journal, IIT Hyderabad has developed a sensor-chip based detector system to detect adulteration in milk. This helps to measure the pH levels of milk through an indicator paper that changes colour due to acidity of the milk. Currently, methods like chromatography and spectroscopy are used to detect milk adulteration, which are quite expensive, so the researchers at IIT used a relatively cost-effective process
called ‘electrospinning’ to produce halochromic paper-like material made of nano- sized nylon fibres and loaded it with a combination of three dyes. They have also developed algorithms that can be incorporated on the mobile phones to accurately detect the colour change. The algorithm captured the colours of the sensor strips after dipping in milk using the mobile phone camera and the data was then transformed into pH ranges. On testing with milk spiked with various combinations of contaminants, they
found near-perfect classification with accuracy of 99.71%. In order to get comprehensive milk quality check systems that can be incorporated in mobile phones or any other hand aids the team now aims to study the effects of mobile phone cameras and lighting on detection efficiency and hopes to develop sensors for other physical properties like conductivity and refractive index and integrate them with the pH detection unit. SOURCE: www.timesnownews.com
