Brainwave-Control of This Hand Exoskeleton Proves the Concept of Contralateral Control

One of the most promising aspects of our current technological world is the potential for helping those with physical disabilities. In the past, even simple rigid prosthetics were expensive, had limited functionality, and were really only developed by large institutes. These days, the affordability and usability of advanced electronics has allowed small groups—and even individuals—to create truly astonishing devices to help those that really need them.

The Campus Biotech lab in Geneva is composed of one such small group, and their focus is on using external structures (exoskeletons) to augment the body’s natural movement. One of their projects is an exoskeleton worn on the hand, which uses a chest-mounted motor unit to pull steel cables that act as tendons. To control the hand exoskeleton, they began experimenting with brainwave-control via an EEG headset.

What they found proves just how tremendously adaptable the human brain actually is. Like many parts of the brain, the motor cortex is split into two hemispheres. That means that the right side of the motor cortex controls the left hand, and the left side controls the right hand.

While testing the exoskeleton on patients with brain or spinal cord damage that impaired one side of the motor cortex, they found that the patients’ brains would actually start using the functioning side of their motor cortex to control the hand. That’s a process called contralateral control, where the brain begins compensating for damage by rewiring itself. This research is rare proof of contralateral motor cortex control, and has a lot of potential for helping those with disabilities caused by brain damage.