Brain Computer Interface

Brain-Computer Interface is a direct communication between the brain and an external device, usually a computer. It involves a microscopic chip that is surgically implanted onto the brain to be capable of reading the brains neuron signals. It is able to read the brain signals through the chip because it picks up the neurons telling the brain to move in whatever which direction. The chip then sends these signals to a computer using a radio transmitter for translation of the request from the brain. The computer is able to read the brain activity sent from the chip and interprets it in order to fire back a signal to the electrodes to produce the requested movement in the legs. The brain interprets the neuron signals received from the radio transmitter and then sends a signal back to the appropriate motor control nerves in the legs, bypassing the damaged section of the spinal cord and allowing movement of their own legs. This breakthrough in science can turn this idea of what we thought was science fiction into a reality for the 100,000 people who are affected by tetraplegia.

This BCI has multiple uses in today's world and can be used by the approximate 11,000 people who lose function of their legs each year. Some of the people targeted by this specific BCI are people who are affected by cervical spinal-cord injury, brain-stem stroke, ALS and other motor neuron diseases, Guillain-Barré syndrome, myasthenia gravis, muscular dystrophy, postpolio syndrome, neurofibromatosis, multiple sclerosis, and spastic tetraplegia. This BCI would be useful to these people, because all of the diseases listed above relate to loss of function in the legs. This BCI would allow them to go about their daily lives with properly functioning legs, improving the quality of life for the thousands of people affected. They could enjoy doing things they could never do before like running, playing sports, and even working out as long as they took the time to train their brain and computer to work together in order to accomplish these activities.

There are already BCI's that exist now on the market, but the difference in our BCI and the ones that have already been created is two things. The first difference is that the BCI is not being used to control a robotic arm or leg, but instead it is being used to control the humans very own legs. The BCI's that are around now are only capable of using the computer's technology to control a robotic arm that is not attached to the body. Team Whiteboiz plans to take it to the next step and further the computer's technology so that it can interpret the neurons of the legs and feet and then use that to control the humans movement within the lower extremities. The second difference is the fact that the BCI's that already exist are not mobile so you are limited to a certain distance and must remain plugged in to a computer. Team Whiteboiz plans on incorporating a radio transmitter to be connected

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