NEURAL INTERFACE
Neural interfaces are devices that interact with our nervous system. They can be placed on the inside or outside of the brain or body and can restore, or even change what we’re able to do. Early neural interfaces such as cochlear implants and devices to treat hearing loss first emerged in the 1960s.
Deep brain stimulation to treat tremors in Parkinson’s disease was first approved in the U.S. in 1997. And more recently, experimental treatments have emerged that aim to allow people with paralysis to walk again.
With increased investment and advances in neuroscience and computing the technology is being miniaturized and becoming more powerful.
In the future, neural interfaces could replace some pharmaceutical treatments meaning that your prescription could be for a neural interface rather than a drug.
You may be able to buy neural interfaces to train your brain to improve your concentration or memory, allowing you to perform better or sleep easier.
Benefits of neural interface:
- It allows a mute person to have their thoughts to be displayed and spoken by computer.
- It allows gamers to control the video games with their minds.
- It allows paralyzed people to control the prosthetic limbs with their mind.
- Transmit visual image to the mind of a blind person which allows them to see.
- Transmit auditory data to the mind of a deaf person which allows them to hear.
Drawbacks of neural interface :
- Electrodes outside of the skull can detect very few electric signals from the brain.
- Electrodes placed inside the skull create scar tissue in the brain .
- The present BCI technology is crude
- BCI research is still at initial stages and not at matured stage .
- Ethical issues nay prevent its development .
Neural interface device:
Neuron interface devices can be used to explore the relationships between neuron firing and synaptic transmission, as well as to diagnose and treat neurological disorders, such as epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. It is crucial to exploit neuron devices with high sensitivity, high biocompatibility, multifunctional integration and high-speed data processing. During the past decades, researchers have made significant progress in neural electrodes, artificial sensory neuron devices, and neuromorphic optic neuron devices.
