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Sunday, 17 November, 2002, 00:41 GMT
Remote control brain sensor
Brain activity as the eyes are opened and closed.
Scientists have developed a sensor that can record brainwaves
without the
need for electrodes to be inserted into the brain or even placed
on the
scalp.
They believe the new sensor will lead to major advances in the
collection
and display of electrical information from the brain - and could
even be
used to control machines in a more effective way than is
currently
possible.
It is a new age as far as sensing the electrical dynamics
of the
body is concerned
Professor Terry Clark
Conventional electroencephalograms (EEGs) are collected either
by
inserting needle electrodes directly into the brain or by fixing
electrodes to the scalp.
This process often leads to trauma, so that it may be necessary
to remove
some of the patient's hair.
In addition, the process of attaching conventional electrodes
may lead to
skin abrasion and irritation.
Now a team from the Centre for Physical Electronics at the
University of
Sussex has developed a far more user-friendly technique.
From a distance
Instead of measuring electric current flow through a fixed-on
electrode,
the new method takes advantage of the latest developments in
sensor
technology to measure electric fields from the brain without
actually
having to make direct contact with the head.
We deal with patients who have Alzheimer's disease and
schizophrenia
who often have delusions about electrodes in their head
Professor Tonmoy Sharma
Lead researcher Professor Terry Clark said current imaging
techniques were
very good at providing information about fixed anatomical
structures in
the body.
But it had proved more difficult to find ways to monitor the
body's
ever-changing electrical currents - the information that was
needed to
gain a real insight into the electrical workings of the body.
He said the new system provided a way to do this effectively,
and because
it was non-invasive it was completely safe, and more accurate
because it
did not interfere with the electrical fields generated by the
body.
Professor Clark said: "It is a new age as far as sensing the
electrical
dynamics of the body is concerned, like seeing in colour for the
first
time.
Many possibilities
"The possibilities for the future are boundless.
"The advantages offered by these sensors compared with the
currently used
contact electrodes may act to stimulate new developments in
multichannel
EEG monitoring and in real-time electrical imaging of the brain.
"By picking up brain signals non-invasively, we could find
ourselves
controlling machinery with our thoughts alone: a marriage of
mind and
machine."
The same group of scientists has already made remote-sensing ECG
units
which can detect heartbeats with no connections at all.
Professor Tonmoy Sharma, a neuropsychologist at the Clinical
Neuroscience
Research Centre at Dartford, Kent, said a device to measure
electrical
activity in the brain without the need for electrodes would
potentially be
very useful.
"We deal with patients who have Alzheimer's disease and
schizophrenia who
often have delusions about electrodes in their head, and who
refuse
treatment.
"A non-invasive method would allow us to monitor the effects of
drugs on
the brain over time, and to tailor treatments more effectively.
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"Fleetie" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> "JMGJ" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> > Atomic structure holography using thermal neutrons should copy all
> > Atoms and its Electrons Orbital Paths Around Atoms of the Homo sapiens
> > Brain and Mind
> > I hope someone can make me a system.
>
> I hope someone can make you a brain.
>
> Thermal neutrons to measure electron orbital paths? Done a lot of
> neutron scattering, have you? Why must you post such nonsense, when
> you clearly know nothing about it? I've sometimes wondered what
> motivates people like you to make fools of themselves in public,
> when they must know deep down that they know nothing about whatever
> subject it is that they're insulting at the time.
>
> Nozzlehead.
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