Intel and Brown University are working on a project (Intelligent Spine Interface) that uses AI to recover paralysis caused by spinal cord injury with support from the US Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA.
Spinal nerve fibers are the same central nerve as the brain, so cutting them usually cannot regenerate. However, the use of this technique may enable patients to regain function from paralysis caused by spinal injuries. This technology, which has been studied for two years, creates an intelligent bypass by inserting electrodes in the wrong part of the nerve. The Intel neural network that relays this bypass reads the neural signal and transmits the motor signal to the distal direction while learning the function of transmitting the corresponding signal.
This study aims to realize a set of tools to build functional understanding of the spinal cord with software and hardware. It is assumed to help restore vital bladder control as well as motor function.
For this research, Intel develops AI that can interpret spinal cord radio signals, and provides support in terms of hardware and software for the development of machine learning tools. It is working with doctors at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. It is also partnering with Micro-Leads Medical, which has high-resolution spinal cord stimulation technology.
The project plans to insert electrodes in patients with spinal cord injury in Rhode Island Hospital for data collection. The embedded device records spinal cord signals and conducts signal experiments when participating in standard physical therapy. Currently, the device cannot be fully inserted into the body yet, so the experiment connects to an external computer system to interpret the signal. This data accumulation is expected to learn AI and eventually become a device that can be buried in the body and used for a long time. Related information can be found here .