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Walk Again Project

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Walk Again Project
Formation2009; 15 years ago (2009)
FounderMiguel Nicolelis
TypeNonprofit
PurposeScientific research
Membership
Websitewww.walkagainproject.org

Walk Again Project is an international, non-profit consortium led by Miguel Nicolelis, created in 2009 in a partnership between Duke University and the IINN/ELS, where researchers come together to find neuro-rehabilitation treatments for spinal cord injuries,[1][2][3] which pioneered the development and use of the brain–machine interface, including its non-invasive version,[4] with an EEG.[5]

History

[edit]

Nicolelis, a Brazilian neuroscientist working at Duke University, who had been proposing the use of BMI in his laboratory since 2006,[6] but had been exploring this area since 1999.[7][a] He had demonstrated the viability of BMI alongside scientist John Chapin,[15] in 2008, together with Gordon Cheng, in an experiment where they tested the first continental BMI, where an ape in North Carolina controlled a robot in Kyoto. This was a precursor of the Walk Again Project.[16] Previously, in 2000, Nicolelis had already demonstrated, in a publication in Nature, the possibility of a computer decoding an ape's brain signals in order to move a robotic arm.[17][18] The project, which began in 2009,[19][3] is a partnership between institutions in the US, Switzerland, Germany, and Brazil.[20][21]

In one of its first steps, published in 2011, the project team made a monkey control a mechanical arm and receive tactile information from this tool,[22][23][24] including in the virtual world, with the team's research being welcomed "as an important advance by the scientific community", according to Veja magazine.[25] That year, in his book “Beyond boundaries”, Nicolelis described his plan to make a patient take the opening kick of the FIFA World Cup,[20] in a project budgeted at R$33 million at the time (U$S 15,305,489.56 in 2013),[26] and funded by Finep.[19]

The BRA-Santos Dumont exoskeleton

In 2012, in the process of creating the BRA-Santos Dumont exoskeleton for the 2014 FIFA World Cup,[b] the project team recorded 1847 neurons simultaneously, something, until then, unprecedented.[28][29] The next research project saw mice being able to sense tactile information from infrared light, as a possible new form of BMI communication.[30][31] The following year, the project received authorization to test the exoskeleton in Brazil,[32] with volunteers from the Association for Assistance to Disabled Children [pt] testing the equipment since the beginning of November 2013.[33][34]

When he returned to Brazil for the project, Nicolelis found that the patients did not want to undergo surgery as a way of regaining movement. This led his team to develop non-invasive techniques that were able to help patients chronically, something, according to the scientist, “that had never been done in decades of research and treatment of spinal cord injuries.”[35]

In 2013, the project team revealed that they had been able to make two rhesus monkeys control two virtual arms, using only their thoughts. The research was published in Science Translational Medicine.[36][37] In March 2014 the two exoskeletons were already in Brazil.[38]

The initial contact with FIFA was made in 2012, but the plan to give the inaugural kick, which would even involve the patient getting up from his wheelchair and crossing 25 meters of the pitch, was abandoned by the entity. Nicolelis has been aware of the time limitation since March. 2014. In the end the demonstration, carried out by the patient Juliano Alves Pinto during the 2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, was reduced to just three seconds on the world network, which was the subject of controversy.[39][40][41]

Patient wearing the non-invasive BMI, 2014.

The Walk Again team, made up of 150–156 people for the World Cup, had no control over image production, but the rest of the project was carried out successfully.[42][43][19] The “MIT Technology Review” listed the exoskeleton as one of the “main failures” in technology in 2014, something Nicolelis refuted, while “The Verge” identified him as “one of the 50 world personalities of 2014”.[44][45]

On March 3, 2016, the team demonstrated the use of BMI on apes so that they could move wheelchairs using only their thoughts.[46] On August 11 of the same year, a new study was published in Scientific Reports. Eight paraplegic patients, who had lost all movement in their lower limbs due to spinal cord injuries, experienced a partial neurological recovery after 12 months of training with virtual reality, a robot, and an exoskeleton.[7][47][48]

The experiment described above involved 6 men and 2 women: in four cases, the patients became “partially paralyzed”; a 32-year-old woman who had been paralyzed for more than a decade became able to walk with support after 13 months. One of the two women was able to become pregnant after restoring sensation inside and outside the body, as well as some men regaining sexual ability. The patients reported that the treatment had improved their quality of life.[49][50]

The researchers were surprised by the improvements, since the damage to the spinal cord would have prevented the brain from communicating with the rest of the body. Nicolelis then theorized, still without evidence via imaging tests, that the immersion and mental focus on the training would have stimulated brain plasticity, possibly causing the brain to transmit information through what remained of the nerves.[29]

Feet of a patient using the exoskeleton

In 2018, in an article published in PLOS One, the project demonstrated seven complete paraplegic patients becoming partial paraplegics due to the 28-month-long training with the BMI.[4][51] In 2019, in a study published in Scientific Reports, three paraplegic patients tested the “brain–muscle interface”, where small electrical charges in their legs helped them to move without an exoskeleton.[4][52][53][2] In a study published on May 1, 2021, in Scientific Reports, two patients suffering from chronic paraplegia were shown to be able to walk on 70% of their own weight, in addition to taking 4580 steps,[1][53] also with the help of non-invasive techniques.[5]

A study published in 2022 demonstrated the superior clinical effect that the use of non-invasive BMI has compared to putting patients on robots that don't have the same technology.[54][4] Between 2023 and 2024, Nicolelis began to criticize the company Neuralink, founded by two of his former students. He raised ethical concerns about how the company works, as well as criticizing the way they advertised as new a type of research that Nicolelis' team had already carried out over the previous two decades.[55][35][56][4] Also in 2023, Nicolelis announced the creation of the Nicolelis Institute for Advanced Brain Studies, which aims to bring low-cost solutions, based on BMI, to the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases for 1 billion people. The first hub will be created in Milan, Italy, developed with the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital and the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, as announced in March 2024.[57][58][59]

Other research

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Unrelated to “Walking Again”, on July 9, 2015, two studies were published in Scientific Reports, demonstrating brain–brain interaction, inside the concept of Brainet.[60][61][62]

Awards

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In 2010, Nicolelis won the U$S 2.5 million prize from the National Institute of Health, becoming the first Brazilian to receive this award.[63] For his research with BMI, in 2016 Nicolelis won the Daniel E. Noble Award in the category of emerging technologies.[64]

Works

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In 2019, the laboratory responsible for the project published a two-volume compilation of 20 years of scientific articles by the group, which can be downloaded free of charge.[65]

  • 20 Years of Brain–Machine Interface Research. Nicolelis Lab Series. Vol. 1. 2019. p. 452.
  • 20 Years of Brain–Machine Interface Research. Nicolelis Lab Series. Vol. 2. 2019. p. 436.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Furlaneto, Audrey (2019-05-12). "Cientista brasileiro faz dois paraplégicos caminharem". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  2. ^ a b "Brain-controlled, non-invasive muscle stimulation allows chronic paraplegics to walk". EurekAlert!. 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  3. ^ a b Nicolelis, MA. (2014). "Brain-to-Brain Interfaces: When Reality Meets Science Fiction". Cerebrum. 2014. NCBI: 5. PMC 4445586. PMID 26034520. In 2009, as a direct result of this auspicious first decade of BMI research, the Duke University Center for Neuroengineering and the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience of Natal (ELS-IINN, in Brazil) jointly created a nonprofit research consortium called the Walk Again Project.
  4. ^ a b c d e Redação (2024-02-23). "Miguel Nicolelis, Elon Musk e a mídia vira-latas do Brasil". Viomundo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  5. ^ a b Ragoni, Adriana (2019-08-04). "Estimulação muscular não invasiva, controlada pelo cérebro, permite que pacientes com paraplegia crônica andem". Universo Racionalista (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  6. ^ Rosa, Guilherme (2013-02-28). ""Uma rede de cérebros seria capaz de realizar tarefas que um computador normal não faria"". Veja. Archived from the original on 2013-08-12. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  7. ^ a b Lenharo, Mariana (2016-08-11). "Treino com exoesqueleto levou a recuperação parcial de paraplégicos". Bem Estar (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  8. ^ Nicolelis Labs 2019a, p. 5.
  9. ^ "Braco-robô eletrônico opera com uso de ratos". Tribuna da Imprensa (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vol. 11, no. 15085. 1999-06-23. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  10. ^ Chapin, John K.; Moxon, Karen A.; Markowitz, Ronald S.; Nicolelis, Miguel A. L. (July 1999). "Real-time control of a robot arm using simultaneously recorded neurons in the motor cortex". Nature Neuroscience. 2 (7): 664–670. doi:10.1038/10223. ISSN 1097-6256. PMID 10404201. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  11. ^ Lebedev, Mikhail A.; Nicolelis, Miguel A.L. (September 2006). "Brain–machine interfaces: past, present and future". Trends in Neurosciences. 29 (9): 536–546. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2006.07.004. PMID 16859758. Born as a highly multidisciplinary field, basic research on brain–machine interfaces (BMIs) has moved at a stunning pace since the first experimental demonstration in1999 that ensembles of cortical neurons could directly control a robotic manipulator.
  12. ^ Lebedev, Mikhail A.; Nicolelis, Miguel A. L. (April 2017). "Brain-Machine Interfaces: From Basic Science to Neuroprostheses and Neurorehabilitation". Physiological Reviews. 97 (2): 776. doi:10.1152/physrev.00027.2016. ISSN 0031-9333. PMID 28275048.
  13. ^ Nicolelis Labs 2019b, pp. 274–278.
  14. ^ Regalado, Antonio (2001-02-02). "Brain-Machine Interface". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  15. ^ Nunes, Bethania; Contaifer, Juliana (2024-03-17). "Miguel Nicolelis: "É impossível que IA se torne melhor que o cérebro"". www.metropoles.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  16. ^ Rossi, Jones (2011-07-01). ""Em 2014, tetraplégico vai dar o pontapé inicial da Copa do Mundo usando um exoesqueleto", promete neurocientista". VEJA (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  17. ^ Nogueira, Salvador; Garattoni, Bruno (2024-04-15). "A real sobre a Neuralink". Super (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  18. ^ Wessberg, Johan; Stambaugh, Christopher R.; Kralik, Jerald D.; Beck, Pamela D.; Laubach, Mark; Chapin, John K.; Kim, Jung; Biggs, S. James; Srinivasan, Mandayam A. (November 2000). "Real-time prediction of hand trajectory by ensembles of cortical neurons in primates". Nature. 408 (6810): 361–365. Bibcode:2000Natur.408..361W. doi:10.1038/35042582. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 11099043. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  19. ^ a b c "AASDAP - Associação Alberto Santos Dumont para Apoio à Pesquisa". www.aasdap.org.br. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  20. ^ a b Meniconi, Tadeu (2011-06-30). "Em livro, Nicolelis explica plano de fazer garoto tetraplégico chutar bola". Ciência e Saúde (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  21. ^ Yong, Ed (2011-10-05). "Monkeys grab and feel virtual objects with thoughts alone (and what this means for the World Cup)". National Geographic. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  22. ^ Rossi, Jones (2011-10-05). "Nova pesquisa de Miguel Nicolelis faz macaco movimentar e sentir braço virtual apenas com a mente". VEJA (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  23. ^ O’Doherty, Joseph E.; Lebedev, Mikhail A.; Ifft, Peter J.; Zhuang, Katie Z.; Shokur, Solaiman; Bleuler, Hannes; Nicolelis, Miguel A. L. (November 2011). "Active tactile exploration using a brain–machine–brain interface". Nature. 479 (7372): 228–231. Bibcode:2011Natur.479..228O. doi:10.1038/nature10489. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 3236080. PMID 21976021.
  24. ^ Walton, Alice G. (2011-11-04). "Bionic Bodies: Why the Future for Quadriplegics Looks So Bright". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  25. ^ Tarantino, Mônica (2011-10-07). "A um passo da prótese inteligente". ISTOÉ Independente (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  26. ^ Gugelmin, Felipe (2013-05-22). "Exoesqueleto para paraplégicos começa a ser testado a partir do mês que vem". Tecmundo. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  27. ^ Nicolelis, Miguel (2011-03-15). "Back to the stars". Beyond Boundaries. Henry Holt and Company. pp. 304. ISBN 9781429950794.
  28. ^ "Laboratório de Nicolelis registra atividade de 2.000 neurônios em funcionamento". VEJA (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2012-12-17. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  29. ^ a b Marton, Fabio (2017-03-10). "O exoesqueleto vira o jogo". Super (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  30. ^ Rosa, Guilherme (2013-02-12). ""No futuro, as pessoas vão experimentar sensações para as quais não nasceram equipadas para perceber"". VEJA (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  31. ^ Thomson, Eric E.; Carra, Rafael; Nicolelis, Miguel A.L. (2013-02-12). "Perceiving invisible light through a somatosensory cortical prosthesis". Nature Communications. 4 (1): 1482. Bibcode:2013NatCo...4.1482T. doi:10.1038/ncomms2497. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 3674834. PMID 23403583.
  32. ^ "Nicolelis diz que recebeu autorização para teste de exoesqueleto no Brasil". Ciência e Saúde (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  33. ^ "Pesquisador divulga imagens do Projeto Andar de Novo". www.otempo.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2013-11-25. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  34. ^ "Nicolelis divulga vídeo que mostra joelho robótico do exoesqueleto". Ciência e Saúde (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  35. ^ a b Redação (2024-03-14). ""Criei há 25 anos o que Musk fez agora", diz Miguel Nicolelis". Forbes Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  36. ^ Rosa, Guilherme (2016-05-06). "Laboratório de Nicolelis faz macacos controlarem o movimento de dois braços virtuais só com o pensamento". VEJA (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  37. ^ Ifft, Peter J.; Shokur, Solaiman; Li, Zheng; Lebedev, Mikhail A.; Nicolelis, Miguel A. L. (2013-11-06). "A Brain-Machine Interface Enables Bimanual Arm Movements in Monkeys". Science Translational Medicine. 5 (210): 210ra154. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3006159. ISSN 1946-6234. PMC 3967722. PMID 24197735.
  38. ^ Tecnológica, Site Inovação (2014-03-10). "Exoesqueletos do Projeto Andar de Novo estão prontos". Site Inovação Tecnológica (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  39. ^ Martín, María (2014-06-21). "Apenas três segundos de glória". El País Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  40. ^ Carvalho, Eduardo (2014-06-18). "'Robótica não é filme de Hollywood', diz Nicolelis sobre o exoesqueleto". Ciência e Saúde (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  41. ^ "World Cup robo-suit team dismiss underwhelmed critics". phys.org. 2014-06-15. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  42. ^ Giacomassi, Fernanda (2017-04-24). "O cérebro humano, a ciência brasileira e o golpe político segundo Miguel Nicolelis – Jornal do Campus" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  43. ^ Hart, Dave (2014-10-28). "Mind Over Matter". today.duke.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  44. ^ "Revista do MIT cita exoesqueleto como 'fracasso' na área de tecnologia". Ciência e Saúde (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  45. ^ "Dr. Miguel Nicolelis | The Verge 50". TheVerge.com. 2014. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  46. ^ "Monkeys Drive Wheelchairs Using Only Their Thoughts". Duke University School of Medicine. 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  47. ^ Donati, Ana R. C.; Shokur, Solaiman; Morya, Edgard; Campos, Debora S. F.; Moioli, Renan C.; Gitti, Claudia M.; Augusto, Patricia B.; Tripodi, Sandra; Pires, Cristhiane G. (2016-08-11). "Long-Term Training with a Brain-Machine Interface-Based Gait Protocol Induces Partial Neurological Recovery in Paraplegic Patients". Scientific Reports. 6 (1): 30383. Bibcode:2016NatSR...630383D. doi:10.1038/srep30383. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 4980986. PMID 27513629.
  48. ^ Chamary, J. V. (2016-08-19). "Technology Rewires The Brain To Overcome Complete Paralysis". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  49. ^ "Paraplégicos recuperam mobilidade e vida sexual após tratamento com Nicolelis". www.uol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  50. ^ Radford, Tim (2016-08-11). "'Brain training' technique restores feeling and movement to paraplegic patients". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  51. ^ Shokur, Solaiman; Donati, Ana R. C.; Campos, Debora S. F.; Gitti, Claudia; Bao, Guillaume; Fischer, Dora; Almeida, Sabrina; Braga, Vania A. S.; Augusto, Patricia (2018-11-29). "Training with brain-machine interfaces, visuo-tactile feedback and assisted locomotion improves sensorimotor, visceral, and psychological signs in chronic paraplegic patients". PLOS ONE. 13 (11): e0206464. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1306464S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0206464. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6264837. PMID 30496189.
  52. ^ Oliveira, Cida de (2019-05-14). "Graças à 'balbúrdia' da ciência brasileira, pessoas com paralisia voltam a andar". Rede Brasil Atual (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  53. ^ a b Selfslagh, Aurelie; Shokur, Solaiman; Campos, Debora S. F.; Donati, Ana R. C.; Almeida, Sabrina; Yamauti, Seidi Y.; Coelho, Daniel B.; Bouri, Mohamed; Nicolelis, Miguel A. L. (2019-05-01). "Non-invasive, Brain-controlled Functional Electrical Stimulation for Locomotion Rehabilitation in Individuals with Paraplegia". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 6782. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9.6782S. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-43041-9. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6494802. PMID 31043637.
  54. ^ Nicolelis, Miguel A. L.; Alho, Eduardo J. L.; Donati, Ana R. C.; Yonamine, Seidi; Aratanha, Maria A.; Bao, Guillaume; Campos, Debora S. F.; Almeida, Sabrina; Fischer, Dora (2022-11-29). "Training with noninvasive brain–machine interface, tactile feedback, and locomotion to enhance neurological recovery in individuals with complete paraplegia: a randomized pilot study". Scientific Reports. 12 (1): 20545. Bibcode:2022NatSR..1220545N. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-24864-5. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 9709065. PMID 36446797.
  55. ^ Nogueira, Paulo (2023-08-07). "Elon Musk roubou a ideia da Neuralink de um neurocientista brasileiro?". CPG Click Petroleo e Gas (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  56. ^ Yalargadda, Tara (2024-02-20). "Elon Musk's Neuralink is "bad science fiction," brain science pioneer says". Inverse. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  57. ^ Ferreira, Yuri (2023-07-12). "EXCLUSIVO: Miguel Nicolelis anuncia fundação de instituto e quer tratar de 1 bilhão de pessoas". Revista Fórum (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  58. ^ Yoneshigue, Bernardo (2024-03-05). "Nicolelis anuncia polo inédito de neurotecnologia para reabilitação de pacientes em Milão". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  59. ^ Apoio à Pesquisa, Associação Alberto Santos Dumont para (2024-03-05). "Major neurotech hub in Milan announced". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  60. ^ Carvalho, Eduardo (2015-07-09). "Estudo de brasileiro mostra interação à distância de cérebros de animais". Ciência e Saúde (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  61. ^ Ramakrishnan, Arjun; Ifft, Peter J.; Pais-Vieira, Miguel; Byun, Yoon Woo; Zhuang, Katie Z.; Lebedev, Mikhail A.; Nicolelis, Miguel A.L. (2015-07-09). "Computing Arm Movements with a Monkey Brainet". Scientific Reports. 5 (1): 10767. Bibcode:2015NatSR...510767R. doi:10.1038/srep10767. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 4497496. PMID 26158523.
  62. ^ Pais-Vieira, Miguel; Chiuffa, Gabriela; Lebedev, Mikhail; Yadav, Amol; Nicolelis, Miguel A. L. (2015-07-09). "Building an organic computing device with multiple interconnected brains". Scientific Reports. 5 (1): 11869. Bibcode:2015NatSR...511869P. doi:10.1038/srep11869. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 4497302. PMID 26158615.
  63. ^ G1 (2010-07-28). "Brazilian neuroscientist wins prestigious award in USA". G1. Retrieved 2024-05-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  64. ^ Napoleão, Igor (2016-07-10). "Neurocientista brasileiro, Miguel Nicolelis, ganha mais um prêmio nos Estados Unidos". CartaCampinas (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  65. ^ Mondo, Ariane (2019-10-29). "Compilação apresenta 20 anos de pesquisas em Interface Cérebro-Máquina | ISD". Instituto Santos Dumont | Educação para a Vida. Retrieved 2024-05-10.

Note

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  1. ^ In his 2019 compilation, Nicolelis describes that the July 1999 article launched the field of BMI studies, causing a sensation in the scientific community,[8] being the first example of the brain interacting with a machine (in this case, a lever),[9][10] and the first experimental demonstration of an BMI.[11] In 2000, in a review of his research, Nicolelis used the term "brain-machine interface" for the first time to describe the connection between living brains and artificial devices.[12] In 2001, in the article "Actions from Thoughts”, Nicolelis coined the term “hybrid brain-machine interfaces”.[13] and that same year he was described by the MIT as a leader in the field of BMI.[14]
  2. ^ In the book “Beyond boundaries,” Nicolelis stated that the exoskeleton was created by Gordon Cheng.[27]
[edit]
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