教甄◆英文科題庫下載題庫

    The power of telekinesis has always fascinated humankind. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could move objects using just your thoughts? For Ian Burkhart, paralyzed approximately shoulders down, telekinesis of his own body became a reality through neural bypass technology that allows him to control his once 1 arm again employing only his thoughts. 

    At nineteen years old, Ian Burkhart crashed into a sandbar from an ocean wave and broke his neck. His brain still produces the same functioning nerve impulses, but the signals are 2 from the fifth cervical vertebrae down, preventing any brain instructions from reaching beyond his shoulder and upper arms. This injury 3 Burkhart as quadriplegic, meaning that he is unable to move and sense below his upper limbs and torso. 

    Paralysis comes with major inconveniences. Among them the lack of independence is the worst. 4 to see how technology can help him, Burkhart volunteered to be a test subject for the neural bypass system. Essentially, the neural bypass system acts as an external nervous system that translates his brain signals to his forearm whenever Burkhart visualizes an arm movement. 

    Despite the seemingly simple explanation, the entire process is quite 5 . Burkhart’s brain signals are detected using a brain implant, composed of 96 electrodes that record the electric impulses formed when a certain arm action is visualized. However, the sheer amount of info generated (activity is detected 30,000 times per second) is difficult for computers to 6 and figure out a pattern to how Burkhart’s brain signals correspond to which arm movements he visualized. Moreover, since his brain produces 1 gigabyte of data every three minutes, a huge cable must be 7 to Burkhart’s skull to transfer the data as wifi or bluetooth signals do not have that capacity. Imagine something that looks like a power cord plugged into the top of your head. 

    After the algorithm decodes what type of arm movement Burkhart intended, electrical pulses are delivered through a skin level electronic sleeve containing 130 electrodes worn on his forearm, 8 Burkhart’s arm muscles to move. After fifteen weeks of testing, Burkhart can 9 pick up a bottle and even play Guitar Hero once again. Of course this technology is still in its testing stages. So far, the neural bypass system is not 10 with patients with continuously contracted muscles. However, Chad Bouton, a researcher working on the neural bypass system, hopes that, in the future, this technology can be utilized conveniently at home for all patients who suffer from paralysis.