FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 1, 1998
Contact: Barbara Peck, (847) 692-9500, [email protected]
Computer Chip Helps Speech-Impaired Patients Communicate
For patients left paralyzed and unable to speak from a spinal cord injury or stroke, communication is a constant challenge that threatens one's independence, emotional well being and health.
Roy A.E. Bakay, MD, a neurosurgeon at Emory University, has been working for over eight years to develop a neurotrophic electrode that can be placed in the brain and help patients communicate through a computer. Dr. Bakay will be presenting his research to more than 4000 neurosurgeons at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons 1998 Annual Meeting, October 3-7.
"A person can interact with the world if they can use a computer," Dr. Bakay said. "This development will open up a tremendous amount of opportunity for patients who have lost the ability to move and talk because of stroke, spinal cord injury or diseases like Lou Gehrig's Disease."
The neurotrophic electrode is implanted into the motor cortex of the brain using a glass incasing. Peripheral nerve tissue from the leg is implanted into the glass and cells in the peripheral nerve stimulate the cortical cells to grow into the neurotrophic electrode and form contacts. It takes several weeks for the cortical tissue to grow into the electrode.
The neurons in the brain transmit an electronic signal when they "fire." Recording wires are placed inside the glass cone to pick up the neural signals from the ingrown brain tissue and transmit them through the skin to a receiver and amplifier outside of the scalp. The system is powered by an induction coil placed over the scalp. There are no wires going through the skin. Signal processors separate individual signals from the multiple signals that are recorded from inside the conical electrode tip. These are used to drive the computer cursor in the same way a computer mouse is moved back and forth. The recorded neural signals are connected to the computer and are used as a substitute for the mouse cursor.
"The trick is teaching the patient to control the strength and pattern of the electric impulses being produced in the brain," Dr. Bakay said. "After some training, they are able to 'will' a cursor to move and then stop on a specific point on the computer screen. If you can move the cursor, you can stop on certain icons, send email, turn on or off a light and interact with the environment."
The electrodes have been successfully implanted into the brains of two patients.
"Our present patient is paralyzed except for his face, is dependent on a ventilator and cannot speak, yet he is fully alert and intelligent," Dr. Bakay said. "This patient can move the cursor from icon to icon in a horizontal direction. As each icon is encountered, a phrase is spoken by the computer. The patient's favorite is, 'See you later. Nice talking with you.'"
Extensive research was conducted on monkeys over the past eight years by Dr. Bakay and Philip Kennedy, MD, also at Emory. The researchers were able to successfully teach the monkeys how to increase and decrease the firing patterns of their neurons.
"Our current patient is very successful and we will be continuing with this research," Dr. Bakay said. "Our hope is that soon we will be able to get to the point that we can connect a small electrode to a patients limb and have them move that limb using the same principle that they use to move the cursor."
More than 700,000 Americans suffer from stroke each year and tens of thousands more suffer spinal cord injuries or from diseases like Lou Gehrig's that threaten their ability to communicate. Stroke is currently the leading cause of permanent adult disability in the United States.
The Congress of Neurological Surgeons, founded in 1951, is a professional medical association of nearly 4,200 members devoted to the advancement of neurological surgery. Neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders affecting the brain, spine and peripheral nerves. The 1998 Annual Meeting of the CNS will be held October 3 -8, 1998, at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington. To view the 1998 Annual Meeting press kit, please visit the on-line Press Room located in the Virtual Exhibit Hall at: http://server400.aans.org/VEH/
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