Biomedical engineering: Computer Chip Implant to Program Brain Activity, Treat Parkinson’s

 

Computer Chip Implant to Program Brain Activity, Treat Parkinson’s

 

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic (long-term) neurological condition. It is progressive and symptoms worsen over time. It is named after Dr James Parkinson who first described the condition in 1817.
People with Parkinson’s disease experience a loss of nerve cells in the part of their brains responsible for controlling voluntary movements.
An international team of researchers led by Dr. Matti Mintz at the University of Tel Aviv is working on a biomimetic computer chip for brain stimulation that is programmable, responsive to neural activity, and capable of bridging broken connections in the brain. Called the Rehabilitation Nano Chip, or ReNaChip, the device could be used to replace diseased or damaged brain tissue, restore brain functions lost to aging, and even treat epilepsy. The chip is currently in animal testing, but should reach human applications within a few years.
The ReNaChip will significantly improve an existing technology called deep brain stimulation (DBS), a surgical implant that acts as a brain pacemaker for a variety of neurological disorders. DBS delivers electrical stimulation to select areas of the brain via electrodes; for individuals with Parkinson’s, chronic pain, or dystonia, these induced stimulations can significantly alleviate symptoms (e.g. uncontrolled movement). But currently, the stimulation that DBS delivers is constant and unresponsive to brain activity. Because of this, the therapeutic effects are reduced over time. This is where the ReNaChip comes in, making the system responsive to brain activity and fully programmable. Software is developing for humans to physically make them better, software inside of the chip can monitor the brain pulses and when spikes begin to emerge, it can cancel out the effect hence completely decresing its effects; it will not cure the disease but it will decrease its effects.
While researchers are primarily focusing on motor responses, the applications of the ReNaChip are pretty wide. Any interrupted brain wiring (e.g. as a result of stroke) could conceivably be reconnected using electrodes and the flexibility of the chip’s programming. The chip could also be used to treat epilepsy, if electrodes could detect on oncoming seizure and diffuse it with appropriate stimulation. But researchers have their sights on an even more ambitious goal: rehabilitating the brain’s learning capacities, which would require increasing neural plasticitity. If the ReNaChip could be used to create and strengthen new connective networks, it could partially improve an older brain’s ability to learn new tricks.

 

 

 

 

Original source: http://singularityhub.com/2010/07/21/computer-chip-implant-to-program-brain-activity-treat-parkinsons/

 

 

 

 

Stephen Lacey



Blog #2

History of Operating Systems

 When a program was run on the early computers the CPU would not be used while the data was being loaded. This data was initially entered  by hand, very slow with the operator running one program at a time. Punched tape was used where the operator loaded a single program at a time. Faster but still wasteful of CPU operating time.         

The LEO III was the first computer that would allow multiple programs to be run. When the first program had completed an instruction and was now loading data the next program would use the CPU. The pheripherals added to the computers were considerably slower than the CPU, this allowed for many programms to seemingly run at the same time. But this was not true multitasking, it would still have one program having full use of the CPU

Computer manufacturers developed there own O/S for individual machines. Digital Electronics corporation (DEC) used a central computer(DPD10) with workstations where the operator used the CPU in true multitasking, other operators were also using the main central computer at the same time.  The operating system was the ITS (Icompatable Timesharing System) developed by MIT

ITS introduced many revolutionary features:

·         It had the first device-independent graphics terminal output; programs generated generic commands to control screen content, which the system automatically translated into the appropriate character sequences for the particular type of terminal operated by the user.

·         A general mechanism for implementing virtual devices in software which ran in user processes (which were called "jobs" in ITS).

·         Using this mechanism, it provided transparent inter-machine filesystem access (almost certainly the first operating system to do so). The ITS machines were all connected to the ARPAnet, and a user on one could perform the same operations on files on other ITS machines as on local files.

·         Sophisticated process management; user processes were organized in a tree, and a superior process could control a large number of inferior processes. Any inferior process could be frozen at any point in its operation, and its state (including contents of the registers) examined; the process could then be restarted transparently.

·         An advanced software interrupt facility that allowed user processes to operate asynchronously, using complex interrupt handling mechanisms.

·         PCLSRing, a mechanism which provided what appeared (to user processes) to be quasi-atomic, safely interruptible system calls. No process could ever observe any process (including itself) in the middle of executing any system call.

·         In support of the AI Lab's robotics work, ITS also supported simultaneous real-time and time-sharing operation.

Many of these, and numerous other significant advances, were later picked up by other operating systems.

http://www.leo-computers.org.uk/

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/pdp10stuff/pdp10-cpu.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incompatible_Timesharing_System

Peter

Blog post #2

Bionic

Bionic:

The word bionic means that the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. Bionic can be helpful for amputee (people without hands), old people, and blind people. In this series of blogs, I am going to post bionic hand, bionic arm, bionic led, and bionic arm their principles and software used in them.

Bionic Hand:

This hand has some sensors to sense muscle which means it is controlled by muscle movement. So according to muscles you are able to close and open bionic hand. However, some movements are difficult to translate by bionic hand, for example, rotate the finger 360 degree.  So that application takes place to support that. The application is built to suit smart phone and specific for I phone which means it is built in java software.

One of the negotiations is whether the patients will be able to tolerate having such a limb. Another issue is how to hide the wiring under patient’s skin to make them less obtrusive.

 

Ali Alshaqaq

Post#1

Sources:

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/12/health/bionic-hands

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/a-sensational-breakthrough-the-first-bionic-hand-that-can-feel-8498622.html

                               Asimo: The future in robotics
                             Blog Post#1: Introduction


In 1986, Honda engineers set out to create a walking robot. In its early days models such as the E1, E2, and E3 focused on developing legs that could simulate the walk of a human. The next series of models E4, E5, and E6 were focused on walk stabilization and stair climbing. Next, a head, body and arms were added to the robot to improve balance and add functionality. Honda’s first humanoid robot, P1 was rather rugged at 6’ 2” tall, and 386 lbs. P2 improved with a more friendly design, improved walking, stair climbing/descending, and wireless automatic movements. The P3 model was even more compact, standing 5’ 2” tall and weighing 287 lbs.

Above we see an example of Honda's first walking robot the E1, although its not exactly a pleasure visually, it most certainly was a breakthrough in the robotics industry. Looking back on this in the year 2013 it seems like nothing to the average Joe but to an engineer this is the darling baby in what was to become a feat in engineering present day in what we now all know as ASIMO!

                                                          More blogs to follow
                                                       
                                                         Keep moving forward!

Blog Post#1
Donal Murphy.

Give them the space to learn in

Hello All,

Re teaching kids how to code, please see this entry in cGO blog about spaces!!! coool

http://contactlearning.blogspot.ie/2013/04/the-space-to-learn-in.html

Wired article on best lego programming enviroments

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2007/11/the-best-progra/

programming for kids J#3

Martial Arts and Technology

Martial arts have become more popular in video games, and new developments have been made that allow people to train "virtually" by playing these games. This technology is very cool as it allows people to exercise in the comfort of their own home and also learn some fighting and self-defense skills. The information below is taken from the following link:

http://bluesnakeblog.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/when-technology-and-martial-arts-collide/

 

Martial Arts has been practiced for thousands upon thousands of years by dedicated students attempting to train their bodies, minds, and spirits while simultaneously keeping tradition alive. As the years have progressed newer forms of martial arts have been introduced and new ways of studying these arts have come into being. The Jingwu school of Kung Fu for example, lead the way in major change by: teaching martial arts as a form of recreation, teaching women on an equal level as men, and even by using technologies such as magazines and movies to promote martial arts. The Jingwu association, esablished in Shanghai in 1909, was years ahead of their time and accomodated sports, cerebral activities, and even a social focus into their curriculum designed to enhance martial arts. This new school of thinking has been transformed through the years by technology to create the ultimate entertainment system for social, physical, and cerebral development. That computerized system is known today as the Wii and is one of the leading units in promoting new age martial arts for all to enjoy.

This semi-new system of technology has revolutionized gaming, giving us the chance to both virtually and physically interact with the system. In terms of martial arts, this means that the player can physically practice their moves and routines in their own homes. Games like Wii Fit Plus, All Star Karate, and The Circle: Martial Arts Fighter allows the player to fight virtually using their entire body to play the games. The ability to practice and train in a safe and stress-free environment is a key attribute for martial arts, and the Wii makes this both possible and fun. Martial arts students, like those practicing at the Jingwu school of Kung Fu, would have loved the opportunity to have resources like the Wii system to tone their skills. The Jingwu academy in particular promotes martial arts as both a form of sport and entertainment, which ties in very nicely to the Wii entertainment system and its martial arts related entertainment software. The Jingwu’s sports association can be seen in a variety of different ways including their love for tennis, basketball, and even table tennis, all of which can be played on the Wii system.

 

It is very cool that just by playing a video game, you can receive martial arts training!! It just goes to show how far technology can go to further help mankind in fitness and exercise, along with personal development.

 

Blog post #1

Joe Tubbritt

S.T.'s Artificial Intelligence #2: Deep Learning

Google co-founder Sergey Brin believes the best search engine would be like the HAL 9000.

The next step in artificial intelligence is here, and Google thinks that it's worth investing in.

Computational power is smaller, faster, and cheaper than ever before. Object recognition and real time speech translation are reaching impressive levels of completion.

Ray Kurzweil is a famous inventor, author, futurist, and most recently Google's new director of engineering. Why would a fabulously rich and successful inventor and entrepreneur go to work for a company when he has always worked as the head of his own companies? The answer is simple: Unrestrained use of Google's collective processing power.

“This is the culmination of literally 50 years of my focus on artificial intelligence,” - Ray Kurzweil

The software learns to recognize patterns in digital media like music, sounds, images, and video. Showing media to software to allow it to gradually build a consciousness is a decades old idea- after all humans learn the same way. In our contemporary digital age mathematical formulas and computing power have increased tremendously from the 70's, when the first machine neural networks were built.

In recent years Google has become a specialist in the previously obscure field of deep learning and artificial intelligence in general. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it- the world's most popular search engine is being developed to better understand what we want and how we are saying it.

Applications?

1. Google has used the combined parallel processing power of 16,000 processors in an image recognition experiment. The simulated neural network had over a billion connections. Images from 10 million randomly selected images were shown to the system. Objects and themes were correctly placed in a range of 22,000 categories 16% of the time. This is a 70% improvement from contemporary alternate methods of image recognition. When the number of categories were reduced to 1,000 the system sorts the images correctly over 50% of the time.
2. The current version of Android's voice search uses deep learning. Its errors were reduced by 25% when this technique was applied, and many technology critics now consider it to be even better than Apples Siri.
3. Youtube image search could be improved.
4. Self-driving cars could see the world better using this technology.
5. Machine vision e.g. Industrial inspection and robot guidance.

It should be noted that this new technique has its critics. Jeff Hawkins, the founder of Palm Computing claims that true intelligence stems from the advancement of motion retention and recognition, and not huge piles of images like Google uses. For example when you watch a dog running, you learn to recognize animals from the way they move- we don't remember a series of still images like those Google used in its experiment.

Sources:

http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/513696/deep-learning/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_learning

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil

http://ignoranceisfutile.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/google-founders-artificial-intelligence-quotes-archive/

Author: Seamus Taylor

Post #: 2

Programming for kids #2

This is fantastic!
Fun programming tips for kids

These type of programs are starting to get introduced at basic level from basic 2D animation using Scratch to learning the language of the internet (HTML) at Code Academy.

. In this link you can see a 6th grader talking about how
"programming is a skill that can be learnt at any age"

Di-leong Chan - Blog#2

Biomedical engineering: the I-limb ultra

The i-limb ultra prosthetic hand is designed for those who want more from their prosthesis.

With the i-limb ultra, your prosthesis looks and moves more like a natural hand than any other powered prosthetic hand. Each finger bends at the natural joints so that it can accurately adapt to fit around the shape of the object you want to grasp.
Powered by Touch Bionics' unique biosimsoftware, the i-limb ultra is the most versatile prosthetic hand available, providing you with the ability to customize the hand for your daily needs.
Choose from a wide selection of automated grips and gestures to help you complete your daily tasks, such as index point for typing, precision pinch mode for gripping small objects or natural hand position for walking or while at rest.

Utilizing its pulsing and vari-grip features, the i-limb ultrais the only prosthetic hand with the ability to gradually increase the strength of its grip on an object. This can be very useful in situations where a firmer grasp is required, such as tying shoelaces tightly or holding a heavy bag more securely.

The i-limb ultra is based on the reliable design of our i-LIMB Pulse product, but with some new upgraded features.

Features at a glance:

Patent-pending vari-grip mode, allowing variable digit-by-digit grip strength

Gesture selection allows users to create custom gestures

Upgraded biosim-i and biosim-pro control software, with powerful new features

Three new tripod grips for increased user flexibility

Auto grasp feature to prevent objects slipping

Hand automatically moves to a natural position after period of inactivity

Low battery warning audio signal

Two i-limb skin active coverings

One i-limb skin natural covering

Power management, extending daily battery usage by 25%

Dedicated clinical support for prosthetists and therapists

 



looking at biomedical engineering with the new i-limb; some people are in cases unfortunate to not be born with a limb, in this case an arm. looking at this technology it shows what can actually be done with mixing electronics with the human body proves astonoshing!!!
the picture shows pinch precision, the user has no feel to what they grasp with the I-limb but the software behind the hardware allows control of the hand ; this is useful as if too much pressure is applied to the likes of a glass, it will shatter. The user does not learn to use the I-limb...the I-limb learns the user!! The video shows movement of this technology.

 



 



Original source:
http://www.touchbionics.com/products/active-prostheses/i-limb-ultra/

Stephen Lacey
 Blog#1

Who would you think built the first business computer?

Would you expect IBM or a tea shop company?

The first business computer that was built by a J. LYONS TEA

http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/early-computer-companies/5/110/2260

Figure 1http://www.zdnet.com/leo-computer-marks-60th-anniversary-3040094435/

The computer was used to enhance the efficiency of the tea shops from payroll to buying ingredient’s for the buns.

It had a clock speed of 500Khz with a memory of 2k. The memory was individual tanks of mercury with the data being converted to sound waves. The mercury would slow the sound waves and it would then be converted back to data.

The down time of the computer was used by the ministry of defense, the met office and Ford for their payroll.

They eventually were exporting computers to the USSR but as the tea industry declined they reinvested in tea rather than computers. The company no longer exists.

 Peter 1

Every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn to code

The title of this blog is quote from Code.org,

"Every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn to code...because it teaches you how to think"  Steve Jobs.

We are currently doing some research in this whole area with the cGO project. "Lets make learning a contact sport".

Lots of research/projects around getting kids to code, We want to add to this knowledge by creating a model for learning that uses

safe competition based robots to make coding less abstract and more contact.

Thanks to Di for post saw code.org in video ;-)

Jason #2

Goal Line Technology

Goal Line Technology

After years of discussion, heartache and controversial decisions goal line technology is finally being introduced to the world of football. There is a huge debate as to whether it will enhance or destroy the game. Many feel that technology in football will remove the drama of football and that human error is part of the game. There is also a huge fear that goal line technology, if successful will lead to more technology being introduced which will ultimately slow the game down. I for one along with majority am in favour of goal line technology. Too many times have I seen bad decisions cost teams greatly. The lack of technology in the past has had a devastating effect and has resulted in teams, not winning the World Cup, the Champions League or losing out on £80 million by being relegated from the Premier League. There were a few companies vying to implement their design in the Premier League including Carios and GoalRef but it was Hawk-Eye who eventually won the contract. This system is already in use in tennis and cricket and is extremely successful.  The system rapidly processes the video feeds by a high-speed camera and ball tracker. A signal is then sent to the referee within a second to inform him that the ball is over the line.

 

 

 

 

 

How Hawk-Eye works

 

 

 

Source:



http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS3QlCShPTTWIdqaD2OhI9KZhwQ08H1QvnjFeSikKJg01efH2Wf



 

Paul Flanagan

Blog #1



S.T.'s Artificial Intelligence #1: IBM's Watson

Watson's logo

Watson at home in 2011.
It has since has been miniaturized to the size of a server.

Watson is an artificial intelligence system that answers normal questions posed by people. David Ferrucci led a research team in IBM's DeepQA project to create Watson. The specific application when it was developed was to answer questions on the quiz show Jeopardy. In 2011 Watson played and won the game against the two famous Jeopardy winners Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, complete with a sweet $1 million prize. Both of these men are professional knowledge memorizers. During the game Watson had over 200 million pages of data that included all of Wikipedia.

Watson was designed with three capabilities to meet this challenge:

1. Hypothesis generation
2. Evidence-based learning
3. Natural language processing

Technical Specs during the game:

• Processing Speed: 90 x 'IBM Power 750 Server' at 3.5MHz each = +80 Teraflops = +80 trillion operations per second
• Processing Type: Parallel processing
• RAM: 16TB 
• HDD: 4TB
• At startup HDD is loaded into RAM for quick processing
• OS: Power Linux 
• Not connected to internet

Watson's first commercial application is as both a lung cancer specialist and a utilization manager (Create a health care plan that is often tailored for individual patients according to their needs) with IBM's partners Memorial Sloan Kettering and WellPoint. 
Hospitals and health care networks can buy or rent Watson's advice over the internet or from their own server. 
Doctors can determine an appropriate plan for their patients by consulting Watson using an iPad. They will be presented with a list of options arranged with highest probability first. The reasoning behind  the calculation of each probability can be viewed by the doctor if they doubt Watson.
Manoj Saxena is the business chief of IBM Watson. She claims that 90% of nurses in the field follow Watson's guidance.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watson_(computer)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceupbin/2013/02/08/ibms-watson-gets-its-first-piece-of-business-in-healthcare/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilization_management

http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/trends/whatsnew/It%E2%80%99s-Technical,-Dear-Watson/

Author: Seamus Taylor
Post #: 1

Programming for kids #1

Over the whole world there are lack of programming skills needed in the world! A few of the leading programmers put together this video to promote programming for schools and kids in America!

Di-leong Chan
 - Blog#1

lets get this blog started 2013

Hello All,

You are nearly finished, well done. The last thing is to learn and pass it on in a blog.

Everybody can chose their own topic to review, I will take programming for Kids.
Really interests me, can we come up with a way for a 8 -12 year old to program a robot !!!

Remember to put you name in the blog entry, with blog entry number.

Best of luck.
Jason
number 1