Question: how does the technology work then ?

Jen Todd Jones answered on 21 Mar 2013:

Hi Lousie

I sometimes use electroencephalography (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalography) in my work that can measure brainwaves all over the head through the skull. It’s not harmful or painful, but is very useful indeed.For example, a machine can learn that when a person (who is completely physically paralysed otherwise) thinks about, for example, looking up, it means they want their mobile scooter to move forward. Or when they think about moving their left hand it means they want to write the word “Yes” on a computer screen. By using EEG that works out where in the brain thoughts occur, we can use that to train a machine to associate that thought with a command or function on a computer. It’s pretty neat and helps people who would otherwise be trapped in bed being fed through a tube with no way to communicate with that outside world! This is called locked-in syndrome where a person is conscious and the brain is working but the rest of their body doesn’t work (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locked-in_syndrome).

Jen