Computer Brain Chip

 Synchron says it's the first to implant a human brain-computer interface in the US

According to an article from Yahoo news, “Brain-computer interfaces have become a practical (if limited) reality in the US. Synchron says it has become the first in the country to implant a BCI in a human patient. Doctors in New York's Mount Sinai West implanted the company's Stentrode in the motor cortex of a participant in Synchron's COMMAND trial, which aims to gauge the usefulness and safety of BCIs for providing hands-free device control to people with severe paralysis. Ideally, technology like Stentrode will offer independence to people who want to email, text, and otherwise handle digital tasks that others take for granted.

Surgeons installed the implant using an endovascular procedure that avoids the intrusiveness of open-brain surgery by going through the jugular vein. The operation went "extremely well" and let the patient return home 48 hours later, according to Synchron. An ongoing Australian trial has also proven successful so far, with four patients still safe a year after receiving their implants.

It may take a long time before doctors can offer Synchron's BCIs to patients. The company received FDA approval for human trials in July 2021, and it's still expanding the COMMAND trial as of this writing. Still, the US procedure represents a significant step toward greater autonomy for people with paralysis. It also represents a competitive victory — Elon Musk's Neuralink has yet to receive FDA permission for its own implant.”

This is exciting news for someone like me, who requires the use of technology for everyday processes (including using my computer.) I depend on speech recognition software to write, browse the web, control household activities, etc. This would also give people in my situation more independence, as they wouldn’t have to rely on others to help them. There might come a day when this implant may become available to the public. 

It’s an interesting concept. Technology is always evolving and advancing. Nothing is ever going to stay the same. Companies are always working on different and easier ways to do things. According to an article on the Tech Evaluate website, “technology is evolving so fast because of a phenomenon known as Accelerating Change. Each technological improvement can create the next, stronger generations of technology at a faster rate. As each generation of technology is better than the last, it builds new technology faster.”

Ultimately, I believe massive, future technological changes are still yet to come. With every new advancement comes an easier way to do things. For someone who’s life is dependent on so many other people to do things for them, the more independence that’s out there, the easier it will be to do things themselves.

Jenni

Update on the Pandemic

At the end of March, I wrote a blog post about the stay-at-home order issued until May 4. In order to prepare for it, people have been stockpiling on everything they can to avoid going to the stores as often (even though they’re still open). This includes everything from daily necessities, food, household items etc. It’s being called “panic buying” and our “brains are being pushed into taking back control in a world where you feel out of control. More generally, it can be understood as displaying part of our fundamental psychology needs.”

When my mom went to the store, she noticed how visible the hoarding of supplies was and texted

some pictures. Luckily, I haven’t had to go to the stores shopping; my family usually does that. Although I have ordered some things online and found them to be either out of stock or take longer than usual to ship. It just goes to show how people are handling this crisis and how difficult places are finding it to restock with the current demand.

My caregivers are now required by their companies to wear cloth masks to work. With the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the US now at almost 565,000 and number of deaths close to 23,000, you can never be too cautious. By taking all the measures needed, I’m hopeful that I won’t get it from anybody. Although there’s never a guarantee with the number of people constantly flowing in and out my house. Also, there really isn't a set date telling us when this will all be over.

Lately, I’ve still been mostly staying inside other than my daily walks with Brody (when the weather’s nice). Otherwise Netflix is my new best friend. Also, I have been finding other creative things to do around the house.

Jenni

Hospital Hero

I wrote a post a couple weeks ago about all of the opportunities I've been getting to be videotaped for various things. One of them was for Fox 9 news regarding a hospital hero I named from Gillette children's specialty healthcare hospital. It aired shortly after I wrote the post and then the video came out online. Click here to watch the news clip.

I was also sent an e-mail the other day about another chance to be in a video for CareFusion Technologies, the people who make my vent. I'm going to be discussing it more in detail later this week and will let you know more of what it's about when I can. I love sharing my story and also helping out people and organizations share their stories as well. It feels good to be a part of something bigger, and also be filmed every once in a while. :-)

Jenni