Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,550,258 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

NBC's Today Show Features Cyberkinetics' BrainGate System: In Clinical Trials to 'Turn Thought into Action'; Clinical Trial Participant with Quadriplegia Uses His Own Thoughts to Control a Computer and a Prosthetic Hand.


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc. (OTCBB OTCBB

See OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB).
: CYKN) (Cyberkinetics) announced today that John Donoghue, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Cyberkinetics and Chairman of the Department of Neuroscience at Brown University was interviewed in the Thursday's segment of the Today Show entitled "Mind-moving Machines to Help the Disabled." Hosted by Katie Couric, the program also featured Matthew Nagle, the first participant in Cyberkinetics' ongoing clinical trial of its BrainGate(TM) Neural Interface System (BrainGate). The segment was the fourth program in the Today Show's weeklong series called "Saving Your Life: Modern Medical Miracles." The segment was taped previously during the actual clinical trial and at the Company's headquarters in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The segment can be viewed on the internet by linking to the Today Show's website at http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10240327/.

Matthew Nagle, the first participant in Cyberkinetics' ongoing clinical trial of the BrainGate System, demonstrated his ability to use his own thoughts to control a computer and command the prosthetic hand on a table beside him to open and close. Mr. Nagle is currently paralyzed par·a·lyze  
tr.v. par·a·lyzed, par·a·lyz·ing, par·a·lyz·es
1. To affect with paralysis; cause to be paralytic.

2. To make unable to move or act: paralyzed by fear.
 from the neck down due to an injury four years ago that severed his spinal cord.

On the Today Show, Dr. Donoghue discussed the scientific and practical implications of Cyberkinetics' breakthrough brain interface technology, including Cyberkinetics' progress toward development of the BrainGate System technology to enable those with quadriplegia quadriplegia: see paraplegia.  to perform a variety of everyday living tasks that would, if the Company is successful, enable them to become more self-sufficient and independent.

Commenting on the excitement surrounding Cyberkinetics' BrainGate technology, Dr. Donoghue continued, "The preliminary success we have seen with Matthew and the second participant in the trial support our continued development of the BrainGate System as we move closer to our ultimate objective: the creation of a thought-controllable operating system for people with severe paralysis that enables them, eventually we hope, to move their own limbs."

About the BrainGate(TM) System

The BrainGate Neural Interface System is a proprietary, investigational brain-computer interface (BCI) that consists of an internal sensor to detect brain cell activity and external processors that convert these brain signals into a computer-mediated output under the person's own control. The sensor is a tiny silicon chip about the size of a baby aspirin with one hundred electrodes, each thinner than a human hair, that can detect the electrical activity of neurons. The sensor is implanted on the surface of the area of the brain responsible for movement, the motor cortex. A small wire connects the sensor to a pedestal that is placed on the skull, extending through the scalp. An external cable connects the pedestal to a cart containing computers, signal processors and monitors that enable the study operators to determine how well study participants can control devices driven by their neural output - that is, by thought alone. The ultimate goal of the BrainGate System development program is to create a safe, effective and unobtrusive universal operating system that will enable those with motor impairments resulting from a variety of causes to quickly and reliably control a wide range of devices, including computers, assistive technologies and medical devices, simply by using their thoughts.

A pilot study of the BrainGate System is currently underway in those with severe paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury Spinal Cord Injury Definition

Spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord that causes loss of sensation and motor control.
Description

Approximately 10,000 new spinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur each year in the United States.
 (SCI (Scalable Coherent Interface) An IEEE standard for a high-speed bus that uses wire or fiber-optic cable. It can transfer data up to 1GBytes/sec.

(hardware) SCI - 1. Scalable Coherent Interface.

2. UART.
), muscular dystrophy, or with "locked-in" syndrome (tetraplegia tetraplegia /tet·ra·ple·gia/ (-ple´jah) quadriplegia.

tet·ra·ple·gia
n.
See quadriplegia.



tetraplegia

paralysis of all four extremities; quadriplegia.
 and the inability to speak) secondary to stroke. Two participants have received BrainGate implants in this study, one of whom has recently completed one year in the trial. Previously published results from this study of the BrainGate System have demonstrated that a person with severe paralysis can control a computer cursor in order to operate external devices, as well as to operate a prosthetic hand. Enrollment for the BrainGate SCI study is currently open through the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital is a rehabilitation hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts. It is affiliated with the Harvard Medical School. External link
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Network
 in Boston, Massachusetts, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago is a rehabilitation hospital located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is a part of the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University.  in Illinois, and the Sargent Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island

“Providence” redirects here. For other uses, see Providence (disambiguation).
Providence is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S.
.

A second pilot study is currently enrolling individuals with ALS Als (äls), Ger. Alsen, island, 121 sq mi (313 sq km), Sønderjylland co., S Denmark, in the Lille Bælt, separated from the mainland by the narrow Alensund.  (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (ā'mīətrōf`ik, sklĭrō`sĭs) or motor neuron disease,  or Lou Gehrig's disease Lou Geh·rig's disease
n.
See amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
) or another motor neuron disease motor neuron disease: see amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.  (MND) at the Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital Health care The major teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School, widely regarded as one of the best health care centers in the world  in Boston, Massachusetts. The study is open to participants that live within a two-hour drive of Boston, Massachusetts, and that meet the study's selection criteria. The two primary goals of the pilot clinical study are to characterize the safety profile of the device and to evaluate the quality, type, and usefulness of neural output control that participants can achieve by using their thoughts. A long-term goal of this research is to develop a system that can be used by those with ALS or other motor neuron diseases without the assistance of a technician.

About Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc.

Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, a leader in brain interface technology, is developing products to treat nervous system diseases and disorders by bringing together advances in neuroscience, computer science and engineering. Cyberkinetics' products are based on over ten years of technology development and cutting-edge neuroscience research at leading academic institutions such as Brown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Cambridge; coeducational; chartered 1861, opened 1865 in Boston, moved 1916. It has long been recognized as an outstanding technological institute and its Sloan School of Management has notable programs in business, , Emory University, and the University of Utah The University of Utah (also The U or the U of U or the UU), located in Salt Lake City, is the flagship public research university in the state of Utah, and one of 10 institutions that make up the Utah System of Higher Education. .

Cyberkinetics has received FDA FDA
abbr.
Food and Drug Administration


FDA,
n.pr See Food and Drug Administration.

FDA,
n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration.
 clearance to market the NeuroPort(TM) System, a neural monitor designed for acute inpatient applications and labeled for temporary (less than 30 days) recording and monitoring of brain electrical activity. The NeuroPort(TM) System can contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of neurological conditions in patients who have undergone a craniotomy Craniotomy Definition

Surgical removal of part of the skull to expose the brain.
Purpose

A craniotomy is the most commonly performed surgery for brain tumor removal.
 by providing neurologists and neurosurgeons a new resource to detect, transmit and analyze neural activity.

Cyberkinetics' BrainGate(TM) System is being designed to give severely paralyzed individuals, as well as individuals with motor impairment from a variety of causes, a long-term, direct brain-computer interface for the purpose of communication and control of a computer, assistive devices, and, ultimately, limb movement.

For specific information about BrainGate(TM) clinical trials please send an email to braingateinfo@cktrial.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements, including statements about Cyberkinetics' product development plans and progress. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and  of 1995, and can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "believe," "expect," "anticipate" or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements and reported results shall not be considered an indication of our future performance. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include our limited operating history; our lack of profits from operations; our ability to successfully develop and commercialize our proposed products; a lengthy approval process and the uncertainty of FDA and other governmental regulatory requirements; clinical trials may fail to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of our products; the degree and nature of our competition; our ability to employ and retain qualified employees; compliance with recent legislation regarding corporate governance, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; as well as those risks more fully discussed in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, all of which are difficult to predict and some of which are beyond our control.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2005, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Business Wire
Date:Dec 1, 2005
Words:1180
Previous Article:First SofTech and John Stark Associates PLM Web Seminar Very Successful; Draws Over 425 Registrants.
Next Article:Best's Review: Aligning International Insurance Regulations Will Come at a Price.
Topics:



Related Articles
The verdict: "Jones & Jury." (television personality Star Jones)
Moving with the mind's eye; it takes a good imagination to find your way around.
An Electromyographic Study of the Hip Abductor Muscles as Subjects With a Hip Prosthesis Walked With Different Methods of Using a Cane and Carrying a...
Effects of Attentional Focus, Self-Control, and Dyad Training on Motor Learning: Implications for Physical Rehabilitation.
Society task force develops guidelines for placebos. (National MS Society News).(Brief Article)
Out of the laboratory and into the bathroom cabinet: designing and implementing clinical trials. (Clinical Trials).
Matrix realized: connecting brains to computers could circumvent disabilities.
Casualties of war: robotic, biological research aiding military amputees.
Findings from First Participant in Cyberkinetics' BrainGate Study Published in Nature; Discoveries Support Feasibility of Brain-Controlled Prosthetic...

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles