"One small nibble for a woman, one giant bite for BCI"

In our second ever post on “What’s Making Headlines?” we featured an incredible story about Cathy Hutchinson and a team of MGH and Brown University researchers that was helping her overcome her quadriplegia and move a robotic arm with her thoughts. For the first time in 15 years, Cathy took a sip of her morning coffee all on her own.

In the below video, meet Jan Scheuermann. Just like Cathy, an unexpected medical condition interrupted Jan’s life and took away her independence. When Jan was introduced to the brain-computer interface (BCI) studies being done at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, she set a goal of once again feeding herself a piece of chocolate. Watch as this amazing technology and the dedicated researchers involved help Jan accomplish her goal and regain a sense of independence she hasn’t felt in 10 years. As Jan describes, “This is the ride of my life. This is the rollercoaster. This is skydiving. It’s just fabulous, and I’m enjoying every second of it.”

For more, click here for the UPMC’s BCI website or click here to watch a segment featured on 60 Minutes...

"Turning Thoughts into Action"

As technology continues to improve, it provides new and exciting opportunities for people living with injuries. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brown University are currently working on a neurotechnology to turn a person’s “thoughts into action,” literally. Essentially, this complex process involves a computer chip reading electrical brain signals and translating them into movements on computers and robotic arms. One of the researchers, Leigh Hochberg, MD, PhD hopes to “assist people with ALS, spinal cord injuries, and stroke to regain control over their environment.”

After suffering a stroke, Cathy Hutchinson was left quadriplegic and unable to speak or move. As a participant in a study done this past April, Cathy used her thoughts to control a robotic arm and sip her morning coffee all by herself for the first time in 15 years. To see Cathy in action, check out the below video!

"Turning Thoughts into Action," article on MGH's Website