Multimedia
ABILITY’s external electronic brain
The ABILITY brain-computer interface system is under development to enable applications such as restoration of communication and movement for people with severe paralysis. It comprises implantable and wearable components.
Here, the colorful image on the left shows the printed circuit board layout of the USB adapter - part of the ABILITY wearable. The image on the right is the physical board used in the wearable. Components marked yellow and blue in the layout are deep, so not visible on the board.
The central square - U5 - is the system coordinator. It is a field programable gate array (FPGA) that reads neural data recorded from implanted electrodes, manages the system’s power and communicates with the implant and the wearable components.
Pioneering 3D maps of the entire human brain
Could cellular level maps of the human brain lead to early interventions in disorders like Alzheimer's disease? The team, from the Wyss Center, the University of Geneva and Geneva University Hospital, describes the innovative approach in which they compare healthy and diseased brains to detect cellular-level changes early.
Where I work: The shared dream of the ABILITY team
Project Manager in Neuroengineering, Shenandoah Montamat, reveals her first invention at the age of five and describes the ABILITY team’s shared dream.
Shenandoah leads ABILITY - a project to develop a brain-computer interface system for applications such as restoration of communication and movement for people with severe paralysis.
ABILITY enters preclinical trial
A preclinical trial is underway with the ABILITY brain-computer interface system.
The study, which is being carried out in sheep, is a crucial step towards development of a fully implantable device to enable applications such as communication and movement for people with paralysis.
The trial will assess the safety and feasibility of brain signal recording and wireless transfer of neural data to a wearable computer.
The ABILITY device and an X-ray view of the device when implanted.
Image of the month: Five times larger than life
This new image of an expanded section of cortex from the human brain mapping project shows individual neurons (pink) and cell nuclei (pale blue).
The team is using expansion microscopy – a technique that physically expands the tissue using polymers that swell in a similar way to a diaper when wet – so that more detail can be seen under a microscope.
Chemical anchors fix the expanding polymer gel to the biological molecules in the sample increasing its 3D size. Here, the nuclei were 6 microns before expansion and around 30 microns after, making them five times larger. The team plans to use the technique to study synapses, the physical junctions that allow communication between neurons. By comparing synapses in healthy and diseased brains, the team hopes to discover precursors to neurodegenerative disorders and ultimately find ways to treat them.
Data acquired for the human brain mapping project using a confocal microscope. Labelling: Propidium iodide in pale blue (nuclei), MAP2 in pink (neurons). Credit: Samira Osterop, Laura Batti, Tomas Jorda.
Completely locked-in man uses brain-computer interface to communicate
The study, published in Nature Communications, paves the way for new technologies for people with severe paralysis.
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Revealing 3D anatomy with lightsheet microscopy
Microscopy is experiencing a revolution. Developers around the world are pushing microscope technology to the extremes.
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Epios: long-term brain monitoring technology
Brain signal recording with the subscalp Epios sensing electrodes (leads) is being carried out for the first time in patients at the University Hospital Bern, Inselspital.
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Where I work: Seeing the invisible
Research technician Ivana Gantar explores the hidden microscopic world within mammalian brains using the latest lightsheet microscope technology.
ALICe: State-of-the-art advanced lightsheet imaging center
Whole central nervous system lightsheet imaging of motor circuit and 3D surface rendering (Asboth et al. 2018). Courtine Lab, EPFL
ABILITY
The ABILITY implant prototype
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