Previous studies have shown people can move computer cursors through brain waves, but the Japanese team says it is the first to apply the technology to an Internet virtual world.<\/p>\n
The technology "would enable people suffering paralysis to communicate with others or do business through chatting and shopping in a virtual world", said Junichi Ushiba, associate professor at Keio University's rehabilitation centre.<\/p>\n
Second Life is an increasingly popular virtual world in which people – and animals – are represented by animated avatars and can do everything from social activities to shopping.<\/p>\n
Ushiba said Second Life could motivate patients with severe paralysis, who are often too depressed to undergo rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
"If they can see with their own eyes their characters moving around, it could reinvigorate their brain activity and restore some functions," he said.<\/p>\n
Under the technology, a person wearing head gear embedded with electrodes, which analyse brain waves in the cerebral motor cortex, would be able to move a Second Life character forward by thinking he or she is walking.<\/p>\n
Imagining movement with the right or left hand would make the character turn accordingly in the same direction.<\/p>\n
Researchers have previously put similar technology to work to scan brain waves to control objects such as computer cursors and electrical gears.<\/p>\n
In the Keio University laboratory, the team has designed artificial arms that operate by reading brain waves, although none is known to be commercially available yet.<\/p>\n
Ushiba said the technology could help people undergoing neuro-rehabilitation by stimulating brain activity.<\/p>\n
Traditionally, "if a stroke leaves a man's right hand paralysed, he has been encouraged to use his left hand instead," Ushiba said.<\/p>\n
"More recently, however, it has come to light that the paralysed hand would start moving better if you try to use it," Ushiba said, noting that attempts to use a numb hand increase brain activity.<\/p>\n
The team next plans to test the technology on actual paralysis patients to see how they respond to the virtual world.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Japanese researchers say they have found a way to let people stroll through the virtual world of Second Life using their own imagination, in a development that could help paralysis patients.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gaming"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}