Direct cortical control of 3d neuroprosthetic devices

摘要

Control signals for an object are developed from the neuron-originating electrical impulses detected by electrode arrays (28) implanted in a subject's cerebral cortex at the pre-motor locations known to have association with arm movements. A co-adaptive algorithm uses the firing rate of the electrode sensed neurons or neuron groupings to help develop the control signals. In a closed-loop environment, where the animal subject (10) can view its results (34), weighting factors in the algorithm are modified over a series of tests to emphasize cortical electrical impulses that result in movement of the object (40) as desired. At the same time, the animal subject (10) learns and modifies its cortical electrical activity to achieve movement of the object (40) as desired. In one specific embodiment, the object moved was a cursor portrayed as a sphere (40) in a virtual reality display (32, 34). In another embodiment, a robot arm (not shown) was controlled by an animal subject (10).