International

Brain implant reads man's thoughts

Massachusetts: A severely paralysed man has become the first person to be fitted with a brain implant that allows him to control everyday objects by thought alone. Matthew Nagle (25), was left paralysed from the neck down after a knife attack in 2001. He uses a wheelchair and is unable to breathe without a respirator, and doctors say he has no chance of regaining the use of his limbs. But following an operation at New England Sinai Hospital in Massachusetts, Mr. Nagle has become the first patient in a controversial trial of brain implants which could help disabled people to be more independent by tapping into their brain waves. During the three-hour operation, electrodes were attached to the surface of Mr. Nagle's brain. They were positioned just above the sensory motor cortex, where the neural signals for controlling arm and hand movement are produced. Surgeons completed the operation by fitting a metal socket to Mr. Nagle's head so he could be hooked up to a computer. The scientists, lead by Professor John Donoghue, a world expert in neurotechnology at Brown University in Rhode Island, used a computer to decipher the brain waves picked up by the implant. By using software linked to devices around the room, Mr. Nagle has since been able to think his TV on and off, change channel and alter the volume. ``Eventually, we want him to be able to use it to control the lights, his phone and other devices,'' said Prof. Donoghue. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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