For some who love reading and learning - a research paper I wrote on BCI technology (Brain Computer Interface Technology) for my BSci Hons Degree last year that gained me top marks and that my Lecturer published in his book - I was limited to 2,000 words which is why its brief. (not just a bleached bimbo in a bikini after all? hehe) - Skip to the end if you cant be bothered with the paper Communication using BCI Technology for Speech Loss The technology of Brain Computer Interface (BCI) is an auspicious area of science that aspires to enhance and augment physical capabilities for both able-bodied persons and those who are forced to live with the misfortune of disability. This is carried out through the complex procedure of acquiring and interpreting brain signals and translating them into commands that can provide a perceptible output; eradicating the need for the journey these signals take between. This can encompass many applications from entertainment through BCI controlled computer games and virtual reality, to the momentous possibilities of enhancing the lives of people who have found themselves blighted by disease and disability; rendering useless the basic human functions that are so often taken for granted. Examining how the relationship between human and computer can enrich the lives of people living with misfortune is exciting to say the least. The interaction between human and computer constitutes an integral part of life for most people in this day and age, this relationship in essence forms the fundamentals of the term multimedia – where the interaction between human and computer is used to forge an enhanced outcome. Such is the relationship between human and calculator – to undertake the calculations that the brain cannot compute (or would take a long time to otherwise fathom) and provide an exact desirable conclusion - the ability to enhance the human experience for both pleasure and necessity using computers is seemingly boundless with evermore ostentatious ideas emerging every year. The knowledge behind the technology of Brain-Computer Interface has many possibilities in the near future; in order to measure the ability of BCI technology of positively impacting the lives of the physically less fortunate it is first necessary to understand what this technology is at base level, and how it works. Jan B.F. van Erp describes BCI technology as “a potentially powerful communication and control option in the interaction between users and systems.” [van Erp, 2012] In shortened terms BCI serves to remove the necessity for neuromuscular control from brain to computer; i.e. it takes out the need for the ‘middleman’. The signal is sensed at the brain and transported directly to the computer enabling the signals to be processed directly. This is especially advantageous to people who have lost the ability to utilize the “middleman” which is this case refers to their own muscle control which has been rendered useless. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method of measuring brain signals along the surface of the scalp with external electrodes, which are able to sense changes in postsynaptic potentials in the cerebral cortex and the resulting electrical charges. Electrodes can also be implanted into the brain via neurosurgery however this is very invasive and not required for the BCI electrodes to be successful to some extent. The process of EEG dates back several decades to some of the first examples of EEG being recorded as early as the 1920s, however it has been only in the last decade that his method of processing brain signals has seen significant advances such as that used in BCI technology. [Szafir, 2010] The electrode detects brain activity mostly in the area situated just below it, however this is not as limiting as it may first appear. The electrode receives activity from many thousands of neurons per second as an area of just one millimetre can contain up to one hundred thousand neurons. Four rhythms recorded using EEG are; alpha, beta, delta, and theta. These rhythms are recognised by frequency and amplitude and are measured in microvolts. It is mainly the alpha and beta brain rhythms which are measured as they are present during awake states with alpha peaking when the subject is relaxed with eyes closed, and beta climaxing when alert and mentally focused. Interestingly though, beta waves are also present in the state of REM sleep where the mind is racing causing the eyes to flicker and move. [Gittis, 2011] EEG is the method used for external BCI technology. BCI technology will be invaluable for the sufferers of disabilities preventing them from using regular augmentative communication methods, including Lou Gehrig’s Disease, brainstem stroke, and severe cerebral palsy where paralysis is the crippling factor inhibiting most of the motor functions including speech. Stephen Hawking is widely regarded as one of the most intelligent human beings ever to have lived, and yet has been confined to a wheel-chair for nearly fifty years due to the degenerative disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as ‘Lou Gehrig’s Disease’. Lou Gehrig’s disease is defined in the medical dictionary as “a progressive neurologic disease characterized by degeneration of cell bodies of the lower motor neurons in the gray matter of the anterior horns of the spinal cord, some brainstem motor neurons, and the pyramidal tracts.” [medical dictionary, 2012] The disease is usually recorded in patients aged forty years and over who are generally given no longer than a five-year life expectancy, which is why Stephen Hawking is such a medical wonder having survived for over fifty years with this degenerative disease. Having been tested for the disease aged twenty one, Hawking who is now is his seventies is almost completely paralysed and unable to carry out the simplest of bodily functions such as talking, swallowing or moving any part of his body unaided due to complete muscle wastage – which removes the neural pathways to complete these tasks.  BCI technology may be of great assistance to people like Hawking by bridging the gap between their fully functioning brain and failing body by enabling them to communicate more effectively. The alternative communication method that Dr Hawking has been using since he lost the power of speech in the 1980s is a pair of glasses with a small infrared sensor that picks up a twitching motion he makes in his cheek, which is one of the only places in his body he can still move himself. The communication system he uses is known as EZ Keys and has a software keyboard visible on the screen mounted on his wheelchair in which the cursor constantly scans across, stopping this cursor letter by letter allows Hawking to form words and finally sentences which are then spoken using a voice synthesiser provided by Speech+. The EZ Keys system features word prediction so he does not have to type the whole word usually but rather the first few letters and then choose from the words available. [Hawking, unknown] Hawking has been using this system for over a decade with decent results, however with the nature of his disease being degenerative - meaning that it gets progressively worse - it is conceivable that he will eventually also lose control over the all important right check muscle which he uses to communicate now – which would leave him with no means of communication at all. If BCI technology could be implemented successfully here there is a possibility that he would be able to use his brain to communicate, rather than relying on his ever shrinking muscle control. Research has progressed with Hawking at the helm as the subject matter, with NeuroVigil’s researcher Dr Low prototyping a device known as the ‘iBrain’. This head-mounted device is worn by the subject on a headband and is no larger than a matchbox. The iBrain utilises just a single sensor which enables the device to pick up extensive brain signals without muddying the water with too many inputs at one time – a problem often encountered with brain-scanning. Hawking’s brain was monitored while he was asked to focus on moving his arms and legs (which he obviously cannot do anymore), allowing the signals to be mapped and a formula forged to control computer functions negating the need for external interaction. During this experiment Hawking’s brain provided distinctive “broad-spectrum pulses extending to the Gamma and ultra-high Gamma ranges. Such pulses were present in the absence of actual movement and absent when the subject was not attempting motion.” [Thompson, 2012] These powerful waves as a result of intended movement never completed, could be linked to a library of words and converted into speech rather than the cheek switch that has been resident for many years; thus allowing sufferers such as Stephen Hawking to free their minds and communicate with their brain, rather than body. The strengths of this technology are far reaching with benefits to be seen across many areas. Entertainment and virtual reality using Brain-Computer Interface is of great excitement for the gaming community as it offers a cutting-edge alternative to the tried and tested hand held controllers and motion detectors of times past. Those so inclined to follow the trend of needing the newest and most innovative technology available will surely be willing to pay top-dollar to name themselves owner of such a prize. This does however pale in comparison to the ability of this technology to alter the lives of people blighted by disease who need help to perform the simplest of tasks, taken for granted by the majority. The ability for this technology to be used for many different conditions is astounding – from detecting abnormalities in the brains of sufferers of attention deficit disorder and epilepsy – to invasive implanted electrodes placed directly into the brain via neurosurgery providing a constant monitoring and output for people using prosthetic limbs and even brain-controlled wheelchairs. From one extreme to the other, this technology has undoubtedly gone from strength to strength in a relatively short space of time, since research has been intensified. Weakness in this area is not too apparent, because any kind of feat in this technology is seen by some a truly miraculous. Although serving as an alternative to Stephen Hawking’s EZ Keys and Speech+ system – BCI would provide essentially the same service of scrolling through words and letters to form sentences via a speech synthesiser – merely negating the need for muscular input. Perhaps in the not too distant future they would be able to form the words and sentences directly from the electrical currents in the brain, this would be extremely labour intensive though as each letter and sound would have to be scanned repeatedly and would only be successful if there were differences in the rhythms recorded for each sound – otherwise there would be no way to distinguish between the variances. The kind of distinction may also require the electrodes to be placed internally to allow a greater variety of signals to be processed. The technology of Brain Computer Interface is a wonderfully exciting area of science and multimedia. It is beginning to change the lives of people all around the world who can utilise it to complete tasks they had given up on. It holds great potential for future possibilities that are beyond the realm of imagination. Hopefully in the coming years this technology will be more readily available to everyone – and not just the handsome of pocket – to enrich their lives in way they never could have imagined. Some may think that this technology breaches the line of reading into peoples minds, and agreeably this is a worry – however, controlling computers with switches directed from the brain is far removed from reading peoples innermost secrets, although only the future will tell. - If you read all of that then you have my respect. I am a creature of hunger. I hunger in everything in my life - in love, parenting, knowledge, fitness, nutrition, and actual hunger (like the kind where all you want is a big giant brownie. In your face. Like right now.) (and then ten minutes later; another brownie) (followed by a brownie) (and then 4 cashew nuts, because theyre healthy and cancel out the brownies :D ) (if youve been especially brownie-licious then a cup of green tea should sort it right out) The reason I posted this is because some people think I am a BIMBO. They feel that I use words out of turn, or talk shit, or generally have nothing to offer other than gratuitous selfies and pictures of food.... The extent of the knowledge I have to offer from my experiences and my learnings for my 29 years is scary. I sit every night and read books, online articles, journals, posts - about the thing that is taking my life forward and that is fitness. I have a degree, experience in sales and marketing, leisure, have had my own business, but it is in fitness that I see my future. Its not because I am really good at it but because I believe in myself. Just like the judges at the WBFF Denmark believed in me when they awarded me the first female Pro card in the whole of Ireland. I have a very very long way to go and sometimes I feel like this recognition has come too soon - but it just makes me want to work my ass off even more. I love each and every one of you who comment and like and share my posts - and trust me I see it all.. every single one. You are the people who are like family to me and I love nothing more than someone coming up to me and saying how is your foot? Are you competing soon? Did you get you get your back sorted? - people who I have never seen or met before in my entire life and they care enough to ask how I am having read my page. You are priceless. I love you all. Much love, Jenni xx Wbff Danmark WBFF PRO Forum THE WBFF Luke Haslett Wbff Pro Abigail Edwards Wbff Pro Jaco De Bruyn-Wbff Pro Su Farrell WBFF Pro Lucie DeRosa Wbff Pro Mirella Clark WBFF Diva Fitness Competitor Shaun Stafford Wbff Pro WBFF Denmark Britt Thorhauge Christiansen Wbff Jenni Kyle Wbff Pro Judy Wright-Morris Wbff Pro Femi Billyrose Wbff Pro Jaco de Bruyn WBFF Pro Lloyd McDonald Fitness Justin Chong Designs by Apasionese FLEX BODYBUILDING MAGAZINE ALPHA BODS
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 00:31:59 +0000
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