I’ve heard the line from an old Superman song way back the 1980′s. “Can you read my mind?” And looking to today’s technology, that just might be possible even without Superman, medically speaking. Meet the next generation of the technology for neurological problems.
Another milestone in bioengineering has been reached with KINARM’s assessment station. This can be considered a promising gadget for medical experts. KINARM sounds like “keen arm”, and properly so, since it is the robotic arm that keenly assesses the nuance of the human brain.
Sure, it does not seem like your usual gadget that you can fit in your pocket. It may also be the type that requires more than just knowing the specs (a medical degree, perhaps?). But it still fits the usual definition of gadget: “a device or control that is very useful for a particular job”.
Queen’s University pioneered this study from their Center for Neuroscience Studies. Parteq Innovations partners with Queen’s researchers on this one and made it commercially available.
It mostly tests the human sitting on the machine, like this smiling guy over here:
Surely, it’s a welcome thing not to wait to see adverse effects of brain problems, injuries or diseases. It at least helps nip the problem in the bud and assess things through the virtual reality it regurgitates to its interpreters.
What does it do? For one, it straps the patient first in its chair and robotic arm. Then the interface allows the patient to do some tasks like paddling a ball and other basic motions. It specifically produces matching tasks repeatedly. These matching tasks check if the robotic arm-installed arm mirrors the motion of the other arm within an acceptable range. It also tests the reflex by producing a circular pattern that the person will follow. The catch to it is that the person is not allowed to see his or her arms as she does all these things.
Afterwards, virtual reality system does its “magic” and will produce a report. The report will include the user’s speed and accuracy in executing the motions. It will also show the doctors how many times the brain deviated. People with strokes and other health problems relating to nerves will have a harder time achieving the simple reflex tests of the KINARM station.
This is a far cry from the usual drill of assessing brain injuries or damage. The usual test is the forefinger-to-nose tip test. Another is walking along a straight line. The theory is that people who got their head banged up too bad and possessing a concussion cannot do these basic tasks. But that’s already a severe example. The method is subjective too.
There is MRI that helps locate neurological damage and helps recreate the structure of the brain. But it does not really help you monitor the movement. MRI has helped a lot in locating places for surgery; KINARM does its best that you do not have to have surgery with an ounce of prevention.
The promising fact about this KINARM assessment station is that it will help detect minor irregularities in the brain function even before they become full-blown health problems. The body’s nerves are quite sensitive, and unlike the cells in the body, they are non-renewable.
