Poorva Chavan
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Written By: Poorva Chavan | Updated : February 16, 2016 10:45 AM IST
Falls are common in Parkinson's patients ©Shutterstock
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's are difficult to treat, and treatment usually focuses on improving the quality of life. Scientists have now designed a smart chip that can be paired with neural implants for wireless transmission of brain signals to help combat Parkinson's and also help paraplegic people to move their prosthetic limbs.
The currently available neural implants have to be attached by wires to a device outside the body. And for patients with prosthetic limbs, the wires are connected to a computer that decodes signals from the brain so that the artificial limb can move. These wires are a major hindrance to daily activities and the permanent openings that allow the wires into the brain also increase the chances of infections. (Read: Exercise, thrice a week, curbs Parkinson s effects)
The new chip
The new chip developed by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) allows the transmission of data from the brain wirelessly and accurately. Assistant Professor Arindam Basu from NTU's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering informed that chip has been tested in animal models and could transmit data with 95% accuracy. The chip is hundred times more efficient than current chips available in the market, said the press release from the university. This new chip will help design compact wearable devices such as ECG monitoring devices and neural implants and will diminish the need for larger batteries to power them. (Read: 7 things you didn t know about Parkinson s disease)
Data transmission and power usage
When brain signals have to be transmitted with high accuracy, implants not only need thousands of channels of raw data but also require more power to transmit this amount of data which usually involves bigger batteries or frequent recharging. However, the problem with such implants is that there is limited space in the brain and frequent recharging limits the use of implants for recording long-term data. So instead of increasing the power source, scientists tried to reduce the amount of data to be transmitted. (Read: 15 early signs of Parkinson s disease you ought to know)
The chip is extremely energy efficient and analyses and decodes thousands of signals from the neural implants in the brain before compressing the results and sending it wirelessly to an external receiver.
Image source--Shutterstock
