DARPA(米国国防総省の高等研究計画局)の研究によると、10年以上マヒ状態の男性が実験的義手を装着して触覚を取り戻すことができたという研究が発表された。

触覚が機械によって取り戻されたと言う事は、今まで義手は人間の失われた四肢の切断端に残った神経からの電気信号を感知して動くことを研究していた。今では相当の制度で動くことができるという。ある情報では、自律的に移動することのできる義手がリモートコントロールで複雑な手の動きを再現することで、義手だけの侵入スパイ機会になるともいわれている。確かにカメラがついて、移動できる小さな「手」であればスパイとして様々な活動が可能だろう。鍵を開けて侵入もできるだろうし、爆発物の起爆装置の解除もできるかもしれない。それも一流の技術者がリモートで操作することで。

軍部の研究は民生用の3世代先を走っているという。軍事的に悪用（利用ともいう）されて完成した技術が民生用として使われるのである。

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Neurotechnology Provides Near-Natural Sense of Touch 神経技術は、近い自然の触覚を提供する

Revolutionizing Prosthetics program achieves goal of restoring sensation Prostheticsプログラムに革命をもたらすことは、知覚を復元する目的を達成する

outreach@darpa.mil outreach@darpa.mil

9/11/2015 9/11/2015

A 28-year-old who has been paralyzed for more than a decade as a result of a spinal cord injury has become the first person to be able to "feel" physical sensations through a prosthetic hand directly connected to his brain, and even identify which mechanical finger is being gently touched. 脊髄損傷の結果として10年以上の間麻痺していた28歳は、直接義手を通しての身体的な感覚が彼の脳に接続していると「感じて」、どの機械の指が穏やかに触診されているかについてさえ識別することが可能な初の人になった。

The advance, made possible by sophisticated neural technologies developed under DARPA's Revolutionizing Prosthetics points to a future in which people living with paralyzed or missing limbs will not only be able to manipulate objects by sending signals from their brain to robotic devices, but also be able to sense precisely what those devices are touching. 高度な神経技術による先発の、作られた候補者は、麻痺したか失った四肢に耐えている人々がそれらの脳からロボット装置まで信号を送ることによってオブジェクトを操作することが可能であるだけでなく、それらの手段が何に影響しているかについて、正確に読み取ることも可能である将来まで、DARPAのProstheticsに革命をもたらしている点の下で育った。

"We've completed the circuit," said DARPA program manager Justin Sanchez. 「我々は、回線を完了した」と、DARPAプログラム・マネージャ・ジャスティン・サンチェスが言った。 "Prosthetic limbs that can be controlled by thoughts are showing great promise, but without feedback from signals traveling back to the brain it can be difficult to achieve the level of control needed to perform precise movements. 「考えによって制御されることができる義手・義足は大きな約束を示している、しかし、脳へ進んでいる信号からのフィードバックなしで、正確な運動を行うために必要なコントロールのレベルを成し遂げることは難しくありえる。 By wiring a sense of touch from a mechanical hand directly into the brain, this work shows the potential for seamless bio-technological restoration of near-natural function." 脳に直接機械の手から触覚を配線することによって、本研究は近い自然の機能の継ぎ目のない生物工学的な回復の可能性を示す。」

The clinical work involved the placement of electrode arrays onto the paralyzed volunteer's sensory cortex-the brain region responsible for identifying tactile sensations such as pressure. 臨床効果は、圧力のような触覚を確認することに対して責任がある麻痺しているボランティアの感覚cortex-the脳領域上へ、電極配列の放置を含んだ。 In addition, the team placed arrays on the volunteer's motor cortex, the part of the brain that directs body movements. 加えて、チームは配列をボランティアの運動皮質（体運動を導く脳の部分）に配置した。

Wires were run from the arrays on the motor cortex to a mechanical hand developed by the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at Johns Hopkins University. 導線は、運動皮質の配列からジョンズホプキンス大学で応用物理研究所（APL）によって発達する機械の手まで張りめぐらせられた。 That gave the volunteer-whose identity is being withheld to protect his privacy-the capacity to control the hand's movements with his thoughts, a feat previously accomplished under the DARPA program by another person with similar injuries. それは、アイデンティティがそうであるvolunteer-whoseを与えた彼の考え（以前類似の損傷でもう一人の人によってDARPAプログラムの下で達成される妙技）で手の運動を制御する彼のprivacy-the能力を保護するために保留する。

Then, breaking new neurotechnological ground, the researchers went on to provide the volunteer a sense of touch. ついで、新しい神経技術的理由を断って、研究者はボランティアに触覚を提供し続けた。 The APL hand contains sophisticated torque sensors that can detect when pressure is being applied to any of its fingers, and can convert those physical "sensations" into electrical signals. APL手はいつの圧力がその指のいずれかに印加されているかについて検出することができる精巧なトルク・センサを含んで、それらの身体的な「感覚」を電気信号に変換することができる。 The team used wires to route those signals to the arrays on the volunteer's brain. チームは、ボランティアの脳に配列にそれらの信号を送るために、導線を使用した。

In the very first set of tests, in which researchers gently touched each of the prosthetic hand's fingers while the volunteer was blindfolded, he was able to report with nearly 100 percent accuracy which mechanical finger was being touched. ボランティアが目隠しをされる間、研究者が穏やかに義手の指の各々にさわった試験の一番最初のセットにおいて、彼はほぼ100パーセントで機械の指がそうであった精度が触診したと報告することが可能だった。 The feeling, he reported, was as if his own hand were being touched. 感覚は、自分自身の手が触診されているかどうかとしてあったと、彼が報告した。

"At one point, instead of pressing one finger, the team decided to press two without telling him," said Sanchez, who oversees the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program. 「あるところで、1本の指を押圧する代わりに、チームは彼に言うことなく2を押圧することに決定した」と、サンチェスが言った。そして、その人はRevolutionizing Prostheticsプログラムを監督する。 "He responded in jest asking whether somebody was trying to play a trick on him. 「彼は、誰かが彼を欺こうとしていたかどうかについて尋ねて、冗談で返答した。 That is when we knew that the feelings he was perceiving through the robotic hand were near-natural." それは、我々が彼がロボット手を通して認めていた感情が近い自然であるということを知っていた時である。」

Sanchez described the basic findings on Thursday at Wait, What? 木曜日に基本的な所見を述べられるサンチェス待ちなさい、なに？ A Future Technology Forum, hosted by DARPA in St. Louis. Future Technology Forum（セントルイスでDARPAによってホストをつとめられる）。 Further details about the work are being withheld pending peer review and acceptance for publication in a scientific journal. 効果に関する詳細は、科学的な学術誌で刊行のために査読と受理まで保留になっている。

The restoration of sensation with implanted neural arrays is one of several neurotechnology-based advances emerging from DARPA's 18-month-old Biological Technologies Office, Sanchez said. 移植された神経配列による知覚の回復はDARPAの18ヵ月のBiological Technologies Officeから現れているいくつかのneurotechnologyベースの前進のうちの1つであると、サンチェスが言った。 "DARPA's investments in neurotechnologies are helping to open entirely new worlds of function and experience for individuals living with paralysis and have the potential to benefit people with similarly debilitating brain injuries or diseases," he said. 「神経技術へのDARPAの投資は、麻痺に耐えている個人のために機能と経験の完全に新しい世界を開いて、同じように消耗性の脳外傷または疾患で人々のためになるために可能性があるのを助けている」と、彼が言った。

In addition to the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program that focuses on restoring movement and sensation, DARPA's portfolio of neurotechnology programs includes the Restoring Active Memory (RAM) and Systems-Based Neurotechnology for Emerging Therapies (SUBNETS) programs, which seek to develop closed-loop direct interfaces to the brain to restore function to individuals living with memory loss from traumatic brain injury or complex neuropsychiatric illness. 運動と知覚を復元することに集中するRevolutionizing Prostheticsプログラムに加えて、神経技術プログラムのDARPAのポートフォリオはActive Memory（RAM）を復元することとEmerging Therapies（SUBNETS）のためのシステム-Based Neurotechnologyプログラムを含む。そして、それは機能を外傷性脳外傷または複合の神経精神病学的疾患から記憶喪失に耐えている個人に戻すために脳に閉じたループ・ダイレクト・インタフェースを開発しようとする。

For more information about Wait, What? please visit: まわりに詳細な情報のために、待機、なに？往診してください： www.darpawaitwhat.com. www.darpawaitwhat.com。

 

 

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http://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2015-09-11

Neurotechnology Provides Near-Natural Sense of Touch

Revolutionizing Prosthetics program achieves goal of restoring sensation

outreach@darpa.mil

9/11/2015

A 28-year-old who has been paralyzed for more than a decade as a result of a spinal cord injury has become the first person to be able to “feel” physical sensations through a prosthetic hand directly connected to his brain, and even identify which mechanical finger is being gently touched.

The advance, made possible by sophisticated neural technologies developed under DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics points to a future in which people living with paralyzed or missing limbs will not only be able to manipulate objects by sending signals from their brain to robotic devices, but also be able to sense precisely what those devices are touching.

“We’ve completed the circuit,” said DARPA program manager Justin Sanchez. “Prosthetic limbs that can be controlled by thoughts are showing great promise, but without feedback from signals traveling back to the brain it can be difficult to achieve the level of control needed to perform precise movements. By wiring a sense of touch from a mechanical hand directly into the brain, this work shows the potential for seamless bio-technological restoration of near-natural function.”

The clinical work involved the placement of electrode arrays onto the paralyzed volunteer’s sensory cortex—the brain region responsible for identifying tactile sensations such as pressure. In addition, the team placed arrays on the volunteer’s motor cortex, the part of the brain that directs body movements.

Wires were run from the arrays on the motor cortex to a mechanical hand developed by the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at Johns Hopkins University. That gave the volunteer—whose identity is being withheld to protect his privacy—the capacity to control the hand’s movements with his thoughts, a feat previously accomplished under the DARPA program by another person with similar injuries.

Then, breaking new neurotechnological ground, the researchers went on to provide the volunteer a sense of touch. The APL hand contains sophisticated torque sensors that can detect when pressure is being applied to any of its fingers, and can convert those physical “sensations” into electrical signals. The team used wires to route those signals to the arrays on the volunteer’s brain.

In the very first set of tests, in which researchers gently touched each of the prosthetic hand’s fingers while the volunteer was blindfolded, he was able to report with nearly 100 percent accuracy which mechanical finger was being touched. The feeling, he reported, was as if his own hand were being touched.

“At one point, instead of pressing one finger, the team decided to press two without telling him,” said Sanchez, who oversees the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program. “He responded in jest asking whether somebody was trying to play a trick on him. That is when we knew that the feelings he was perceiving through the robotic hand were near-natural.”

Sanchez described the basic findings on Thursday at Wait, What? A Future Technology Forum, hosted by DARPA in St. Louis. Further details about the work are being withheld pending peer review and acceptance for publication in a scientific journal.

The restoration of sensation with implanted neural arrays is one of several neurotechnology-based advances emerging from DARPA’s 18-month-old Biological Technologies Office, Sanchez said. “DARPA’s investments in neurotechnologies are helping to open entirely new worlds of function and experience for individuals living with paralysis and have the potential to benefit people with similarly debilitating brain injuries or diseases,” he said.

In addition to the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program that focuses on restoring movement and sensation, DARPA’s portfolio of neurotechnology programs includes the Restoring Active Memory (RAM) and Systems-Based Neurotechnology for Emerging Therapies (SUBNETS) programs, which seek to develop closed-loop direct interfaces to the brain to restore function to individuals living with memory loss from traumatic brain injury or complex neuropsychiatric illness.

For more information about Wait, What? please visit: www.darpawaitwhat.com.