Charcot’s disease or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) affects 1,000 people each year in France. One of the consequences of this neurodegenerative pathology is paralysis of the limbs. Heide Pfützner, a former Austrian teacher suffers from this disease and can only move her eyes but still manages to paint and draw. This miracle was made possible thanks to an invention of the company gTec based in Austria. Dr Christoph Guger’s team has designed technology to paint by thought, thanks to a system connected to the patient’s brain. The Brain Computer Interface works like drawing software except that tools are selected and activated by thought to create shapes and colors. Each tool flashes a number of times. To be chosen, the user, covered with a helmet of electrodes that picks up the electrical signals from the brain, must do the same count.
Communicating with people in a coma
The patient can thus add shapes and colors as well as draw straight lines on his drawing. This invention is mainly aimed at people who are disabled, paralyzed or have suffered from a heart attack, says Dr Christoph Guger. This system, available for 12,500 euros, could also be used by people in a coma. “This test could help monitor the patient’s condition.” For the family, it can also make a big difference, as they are much more likely to come and see and talk to him, if they know the one. – here hears them “.
