"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 motor cortex of the brain 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 done by me."
"Then the neuronal 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 come down to real-life devices, which are the brain-computer interfaces and the exoskeletons 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 various joints 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 pattern of shared brain-machine control."
"After weeks of interaction, the patient's brain adjusts through this plasticity to fully assimilate the exoskeleton as an extension of their own body image."
When Chen Yiqing said this, his calm tone finally became excited.
"The end 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 ideal outcome and our long-term goal, and we are not able to achieve it at the moment."
"But the initial goal of allowing patients to use brain-computer interface devices to type and play games on mobile phones and computers 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 it's just controlling the robot hand with your mind to bring yourself a cup of hot tea, it's still an incredible 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 do you like them? It shouldn't be difficult to understand."
Wang Dali sat aside, dumbfounded. He quickly shook his head, and then nodded immediately.
"You said 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. After all, our core team only needs five people."
"A first-class neurosurgeon, an excellent algorithm expert, a top engineer, plus my assistant and myself, five people formed a team and worked together to complete this project."
Speaking of 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. s position."
"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 about this selection. 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 in the same industry, so they must 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 you 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 were mainly conducted by my assistant and me in turns."
"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 recruited a few ALS patients through CROs with large sums of money. However, over the past few years, there has been little success, and they have gradually lost patience. Basically they all left the project team.”
“In general, our new project probably won’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 glimmer of hope.
These patients already have neurological deficits, and some experiments that require healthy people to participate can only be done by the researchers themselves.
For patients, 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. 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 easier for them to stick with it.
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 worked 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'm pretty good at judging people. Let's do this. I'll call him now and ask him face to face, and I'll find out."
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 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 if it is just as a guinea pig.
That is also a pilgrim mouse!
Absolutely willing!
Therefore, he agreed without hesitation.
Wang Dali gave Chen Yiqing a "look, I said it right" look, then comforted Zhu Jun for a few words, letting him wait for the news in peace, and then hung up the phone.
"Great, it seems that the brain-computer project is quite attractive. Don't worry about not having enough volunteers."
Chen Yiqing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and the corners of his mouth naturally raised, revealing a brisk smile.
In just half an hour, he secured a general and recruited a determined volunteer, and he was immediately in a good mood.
Wang Dali was about to say something when his cell phone started buzzing.
At first glance, it was Zhu Ming calling again.
"You're not regretting it, are you?" His heart sank, and he muttered to himself while answering the phone.
I heard Zhu Jun shouting loudly on the other end of the phone: "Mr. Wang, do you still need volunteers for Sanqing's brain-computer project? I just told the patients about this in the group, and they are all rushing to come."
Is there such a good thing? Wang Dali was shocked and said, "You didn't just tell them the benefits but not the disadvantages, right?"
"This is something that enters the brain. It is of great importance and carries certain risks, so you must be mentally prepared."
Zhu Jun's hearty laughter came over: "Mr. Wang, I've explained it several times. When they heard it was Sanqing's brain-computer project, they all acted like mad dogs and couldn't stop it no matter what."
Wang Dali couldn't help but said speechlessly: "Okay, how many people do you have?"
"There are more than 400 people in our group, all of whom are paralyzed. Most of the people want to come. No matter what, there must be more than 200 people."
"What?" Wang Dali and Chen Yiqing on the other end of the phone were both shocked when they heard this.
Zhu Jun said with some embarrassment: "Isn't it a bit too much? I also know that everyone is too enthusiastic. You definitely don't need so many people."
Chen Yiqing couldn't help but said: "It's still in the research and development stage. It really doesn't need so many people. Only three people are enough."
"But if clinical trials are to be conducted in the future, hundreds of people will be needed, and you will definitely be given priority."
Wang Dali quickly added: "This is the boss of the brain-computer project, Dr. Chen, the one who researched the brain nerve regeneration factor."
"Ah, hello Dr. Chen, it turns out you are in charge of this project. Nice to meet you."
Zhu Jun was immediately overjoyed: "I met another big boss from Sanqing. It seems that I am really lucky."
Wang Dali laughed at the side: "Boy, you're lucky, this project has a lot of big guys. After you participate in one test, you can probably get to know all the company's R&D big guys."
What he said made Zhu Jun even more excited: "Mr. Wang, when will the test start? I can't wait."
"Don't worry, our team is still short of a supernatural doctor. Once we get it done, it will be your turn to come in."
(End of chapter)
