Scott Hamel, who lost the use of his legs 27 years ago, volunteered for a brain wave project that could help people who are totally paralyzed to communicate and control their environment.

In what looks like a video game, Hamel is moving colored squares on the screen without touching any controls. It’s his brain waves that control the computer cursor.

“If you can move a cursor in several dimensions and you can select items, then you can have the panoply, the whole universe of computer programs available to you,” says Dr. Jonathan Wolpaw, who heads the project at at the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center.

The computer program, called BCI2000 (BCI stands for brain-computer interfaces), that translates a person’s waves into computer movement takes some practice.

“You and I would consider that slow, but if that’s your only means of communication, it’s not so slow,” comments Wolpaw. So far, BCI enables the patient to control a cursor in two dimensions. Use of multiple dimensions may eventually allow disabled persons to control a robotic arm or an electric wheelchair.

Via MSNBC.
Related: Moving brain implant seeks out signals, converting brainwaves into letters, Brain powered device mobilizes quadriplegics.