Lancet：新研发机械臂实现思维操控

美国一个研究团队在《柳叶刀》杂志上发表报告说，他们最新研发的机械臂已实现思维操控，并且其灵活度非常接近正常人的手臂，这将为那些瘫痪病人带来新希望。

来自匹兹堡大学医学中心的研究团队介绍说，他们挑选了一位名叫扬·朔伊尔曼的53岁女性参与试验，这名女性患有阿尔茨海默氏症并且颈部以下瘫痪。研究人员在她脑部左边的运动皮层上植入两个微电极装置，这部分的运动皮层对控制人的四肢运动起着关键作用。这些电极通过电脑与机械臂实现互联，电脑将脑部发出的电波转化为数字信号来控制机械臂。

据介绍，经过数周的练习后，朔伊尔曼现在已能轻松操控机械臂，并把物体移送到目标位置，成功率达到91.6%。

目前，研究人员正尝试引入无线通信技术，以便去除连接瘫痪病人脑部和机械臂之间的线路，让这些辅助装置变得更轻便。研究人员计划未来在机械臂上加入相关的传感器，从而让使用者感受到所触碰物体包括温度在内的各种特性，让义肢更接近真实的手臂。

doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61816-9
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High-performance neuroprosthetic control by an individual with tetraplegia

Jennifer L Collinger PhD a b c, Brian Wodlinger PhD b i, John E Downey BS c i, Wei Wang PhD b c d i, Elizabeth C Tyler-Kabara MD b c e f, Douglas J Weber PhD a b c i, Angus JC McMorland PhD g h, Meel Velliste PhD g h, Prof Michael L Boninger MD a b c f, Prof Andrew B Schwartz PhD b c f g h i

Background Paralysis or amputation of an arm results in the loss of the ability to orient the hand and grasp, manipulate, and carry objects, functions that are essential for activities of daily living. Brain—machine interfaces could provide a solution to restoring many of these lost functions. We therefore tested whether an individual with tetraplegia could rapidly achieve neurological control of a high-performance prosthetic limb using this type of an interface. Methods We implanted two 96-channel intracortical microelectrodes in the motor cortex of a 52-year-old individual with tetraplegia. Brain—machine-interface training was done for 13 weeks with the goal of controlling an anthropomorphic prosthetic limb with seven degrees of freedom (three-dimensional translation, three-dimensional orientation, one-dimensional grasping). The participant's ability to control the prosthetic limb was assessed with clinical measures of upper limb function. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01364480. Findings The participant was able to move the prosthetic limb freely in the three-dimensional workspace on the second day of training. After 13 weeks, robust seven-dimensional movements were performed routinely. Mean success rate on target-based reaching tasks was 91·6% (SD 4·4) versus median chance level 6·2% (95% CI 2·0—15·3). Improvements were seen in completion time (decreased from a mean of 148 s [SD 60] to 112 s [6]) and path efficiency (increased from 0·30 [0·04] to 0·38 [0·02]). The participant was also able to use the prosthetic limb to do skilful and coordinated reach and grasp movements that resulted in clinically significant gains in tests of upper limb function. No adverse events were reported. Interpretation With continued development of neuroprosthetic limbs, individuals with long-term paralysis could recover the natural and intuitive command signals for hand placement, orientation, and reaching, allowing them to perform activities of daily living. Funding Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Institutes of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs, and UPMC Rehabilitation Institute.

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