A new EEG-controlled robot arm was presented at Medica 2007 in Düsseldorf from 14-17 November 2007. Such a robot might one day bring help to people with paralysis.

People who suffer from paralysis are confronted with many situations in which they need a helping hand. In the Brain2robot project, an international team of researchers has developed a robot control system that works on the basis of electroencephalograph (EEG) signals. This new idea could enable patients with severe motor disabilities to regain some of their lost independence.

The patient controls the robot arm with their thoughts: if they think about wanting to move their right hand, the robot arm is activated. If they imagine themselves moving their left hand, the robot arm will, for instance, lift up a cup of coffee.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Technology (First) and the Charité hospital in Berlin have been working on a brain-computer interface (BCI) technology for almost seven years. For the input, they use a standard EEG, just like the ones used in everyday clinical practice. Electrodes attached to the patient's scalp measure the brain's electrical signals, which are amplified and transmitted to a computer. Highly efficient algorithms analyse these signals using a self-learning technique. The software is capable of detecting changes in brain activity that take place even before a movement is carried out. It can recognise and distinguish between the patterns of signals that correspond to an intention to raise the left or right hand, and extract them from the pulses being fired by millions of other neurons in the brain. These neural signal patterns are then converted into control instructions for the computer.

Team leader Florin Popescu states: “The aim of the project is to help people with severe motor disabilities to carry out everyday tasks. The advantage of our technology is that it is capable of translating an intended action directly into instructions for the computer.”

The Brain2robot project has been granted around EUR1.3million in research funding under the EU's sixth Framework Programme (FP6). Its focus lies on developing medical applications, in particular control systems for prosthetics, personal robots and wheelchairs.

As well as the Brain2robot, the researchers have also developed a thought-controlled typewriter, a communication device that enables severely paralysed patients to pick out letters of the alphabet and write text. The robot arm could be ready for commercialisation in just a few years' time.

Brain2robot