Author: Riding a pig to dig a hole

"Third way?"

"Yes, it is a semi-invasive brain-computer device. It is a path between invasive and non-invasive, so it is called the third path."

Wang Dali seemed to have returned to the classroom and entered a whole new world, and he quickly acted like he was all ears.

"Chen Bo, I don't understand what you are talking about. Please explain it to me carefully."

Chen Yiqing adjusted his glasses, smiled slightly and said, "Okay, I'll try to explain it in an easy-to-understand way. In fact, you don't need to know much about neuroscience, you just need to have a certain understanding."

"The semi-interventional method sounds complicated, but in fact it is very simple. It involves inserting microelectrodes into the blood vessels of the brain's motor cortex through interventional surgery. Just like a heart stent, it expands from a thin wire into a mesh-like stent and expands it.

and then fixed on the blood vessel wall.”

"Cerebrovascular interventional surgery is very mature, and there is no technical difficulty. Moreover, we can perform the surgery from the spinal cord. It can be said that it is basically non-invasive, and long-term implantation will not damage the human brain."

"The neural scaffold is placed in a suitable blood vessel and can extract movement-related brain nerve signals and transmit them to the outside. After amplification and translation by a customized neural chip, they are processed into external motor signals to meet the brain control needs of paraplegic patients."

"That's the general principle."

Wang Dali nodded and suddenly realized: "So that's what happened, I understand."

"So you neuroscientists are responsible for the neural electrical signals of the biological part, and I am responsible for the motor signals and mechanical parts, right?"

"You're absolutely right." Chen Yiqing gave him an approving look and continued.

"In short, the entire brain control system is divided into three parts."

"The most important part is to implant microelectrodes into the brain and then extract the electrical signals related to movement. This part of the work will be completed by me."

"Then the neuron electrical signals are processed and converted into external drive motor signals. This requires the establishment of an independent calculation model, and then continuous optimization based on feedback in animal and human experiments. My assistant Zhang Li is mainly responsible for these tasks.

, of course the algorithm model also needs Aaron’s help.”

"Ultimately, all of this work has to fall on real-life devices, which are brain-computer interfaces and the exoskeleton devices they control."

"It's up to you to complete these tasks. Of course, we will try to make it as simple as possible at the beginning. The so-called exoskeleton device may just be a mechanical handle or knob. Only when certain results are achieved will we move to the real exoskeleton.

Bone direction development.”

"In any case, a customized neural chip is necessary. It can not only process neural electrical signals, but also must be combined with low-power, multi-channel wireless technology to transmit the joint information generated by thousands of neurons to a device of comparable size.

In a mobile phone’s wearable processing unit.”

"This processing unit will be responsible for running multiple independent computing models to optimize brain electrical signals. It will also control all training programs and send out dynamic digital motor signals to control the joints distributed at each joint of the mechanical exoskeleton.

Actuator."

"Using this latest set of brain-computer interface equipment, the brain's movement instructions will interact with electromechanical circuits distributed throughout the exoskeleton to simulate spinal reflex arcs for feedback and training."

"This will create a continuous interaction between brain signals and mechanical reflexes, achieving a shared pattern of brain-machine control."

"After several weeks of interaction, the patient's brain will completely assimilate the exoskeleton into an extension of his or her body image through this plastic adjustment."

When Chen Yiqing said this, his calm tone finally became excited.

"The final result may be that patients can start walking, adjust their pace, and adjust their posture and gait according to changes in terrain. By then, patients will be able to move around freely using an exoskeleton controlled by a brain-computer interface."

"Of course, this is the most ideal result and our long-term goal. We are currently unable to achieve it."

"But the initial goal of allowing patients to use brain-computer interface devices, type on mobile phones and computers, and play games within a year can still be achieved."

"As for the mid-term goal, probably within two to three years, paralyzed patients will be able to achieve basic self-care abilities through brain-controlled devices."

"Even if you just use your mind to control the robot hand and bring yourself a cup of hot tea, it is still an amazing achievement."

"This is my entire vision for the project." At this point, Chen Yiqing finally stopped and asked with a smile.

"What do you think about the technical principles of brain-computer interfaces and exoskeletons? How about it? It shouldn't be difficult to understand, right?"

Wang Dali sat aside, dumbfounded. He quickly shook his head, and then nodded immediately.

"You explained it very clearly and I understood it. The basic principles are indeed not difficult."

This whole process was high-energy and had a huge amount of information. He was dazzled by it for a moment, and his mind began to work crazily, imagining what kind of mechanical device would be more suitable.

Chen Yiqing smiled with satisfaction: "That's good. Calculated this way, our core team only needs five people."

"A first-class neurosurgeon, an excellent algorithm expert, a top engineer, plus my assistant and I formed a team of five people and worked together to complete this project."

Having said this, he suddenly looked embarrassed.

"Algorithm experts and engineers are already available, but first-class neurosurgeons are hard to find, but they are very critical. After all, the blood vessels in the brain are much more delicate than the blood vessels in the heart. If the technology is not sophisticated enough, it is likely that the microelectrodes will not be placed accurately.

location."

"In other words, even if the microelectrode is placed where it should be, if the operation is not good enough, it may cause some damage to the brain."

Chen Yiqing mused: "Anyway, we must be careful in selecting this candidate. We probably need to find a well-known surgical doctor from a cooperating tertiary-level hospital. But I am also a little worried. Even if we are satisfied, there is no guarantee that the other party will be interested in participating in this project."

"

Wang Dali thought for a while and then said: "Isn't our boss lady a neurosurgeon? Ask Mr. Wei and ask her to recommend it. They are all peers, so they will definitely know which hospital in the country has the best neurosurgeon.

"

Chen Yiqing was instantly overjoyed: "Yes, I was so confused that I didn't think of this. Fortunately, you reminded me."

Wang Dali grinned: "That's not true. After all, it's our project, so we have to take it seriously."

He didn't regard himself as an outsider, he immediately jumped in and started thinking about the project.

The two communicated for a while, discussed some work ideas, and even finalized the time for the first project meeting.

When Chen Yiqing was about to say goodbye and leave, Wang Dali suddenly asked casually: "Chen Bo, are there any volunteers for this project now?"

Chen Yiqing showed a wry smile and replied: "In the past few years, we have mainly conducted animal experiments, and then some experiments on human brains have been mainly done by my assistant and me."

"After all, you know, if you don't dare to participate in the research of neuroscientists, then others will not dare to participate."

"In addition, because there are not many participants in experiments related to the brain, we have recruited several ALS patients through CROs with large sums of money. However, over the past few years, the results have been insignificant, and they have gradually lost patience.

Basically, they all left the project team.”

"In general, our new project probably doesn't have enough volunteers, and we may need to recruit a new group of people."

When Wang Dali heard this, he immediately understood that this must be because the patient could not bear the long-term life of a guinea pig and ran away after a few experiments.

Brain experiments are inherently thankless, and healthy people don't want to come at all. Instead, all kinds of terminally ill patients come, with the main purpose of seeking a chance for survival.

These patients already have neurological deficits, so some experiments that require healthy people to participate can only be done by the researchers themselves.

For patients, their life is already miserable, they are in a bad mood, and they have to undergo long-term experiments with a lot of restrictions.

It would be fine if the experiment makes progress, but if there is no hope for a long time, no one will be able to bear it and will have to run away.

Sometimes this cannot be solved by money. Many patients are very fragile and can easily collapse under long-term stress.

If a brain trial is only in the research and development stage, it naturally cannot recruit as many people as a clinical trial.

If the patient cannot persist, the natural progress of the experiment will be limited, and over time, it will become a vicious cycle.

So it has to be said that Chen Yiqing's choice of brain-computer interface as a breakthrough point is considered a wise move.

At least the brain control equipment has obvious effects step by step from small to large.

Patients can see progress and receive positive feedback from the beginning, making it easy to persist.

It's better than doing the experiment for more than half a year and still not seeing any change at all.

After thinking about this clearly, Wang Dali suddenly had some other ideas in his mind. He had cooperated with Zhu Jun before and was deeply impressed and fond of him, so he was willing to continue to cooperate.

He rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Speaking of volunteers, I have to recommend a person to you. He has just used my latest mouth control device and will definitely be happy to participate in my new project."

"He is different from ordinary patients. He is very optimistic and strong. He has learned to play computer games with his mouth control joystick. He even won the honor of the king. He is very famous on the Internet and is an Internet celebrity with millions of fans."

"I'm sure he can definitely withstand your torture and become an excellent guinea pig."

After hearing Zhu Jun's deeds, Chen Yiqing was immediately moved: "Then he is so popular, can he agree? After all, the scandal is ahead. This is a new project, and I can't guarantee that I can make him stand up."

"And this is different from taking medicine. In the beginning, he had to undergo relatively boring training and had to persist for several months."

Wang Dali slapped his chest loudly and said, "Don't worry, I can tell people very accurately. How about this? I'll call him now and ask him face to face, and I'll know."

As he spoke, he took out his cell phone and dialed the number of Zhu Jun's brother Zhu Ming.

Sure enough, I just told the other party about recruiting volunteers for the brain-computer project.

Then I heard Zhu Jun's excited voice coming from the other side.

"Mr. Wang, I can do it. When can I go to Sanqing?"

In Zhu Jun's mind, after he was repeatedly rescued from the gate of hell by Sanqing, he was already a die-hard loyal fan.

At this time, the Sanqing headquarters was like a holy place in the medical field to him.

And he can participate in scientific research projects as a volunteer, even just as a guinea pig.

That’s also a pilgrim white mouse!

Absolutely willing!

Therefore, he agreed without hesitation.
To be continued...