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the last time I saw my friend James in a small town bar near our old high school. He has been working on the roof for several years and is no longer a thin boy with slender hippie hair. I just returned from work in the Peace Corps in Turkmenistan. We recalled the summer after our freshman year, when we were inseparable-adventuring in a stream through the woods, arguing about the merits of Batman and the Raven, watching every movie in my father’s pirated VHS collection. I don’t know what I want to do next.On the other hand, his future has been decided: he recently joined navy And start the boot camp in the following week. He wants to serve in Afghanistan.
James Raffetto received training as a special operations doctor for the next three years. He got married and was sent to southern Afghanistan shortly after. About four months after the first tour, just after he treated the sick daughter of a local woman, he stepped on an improvised explosive device-a clever device triggered by a balsa pressure plate. The bomb detector was to watch missing. He recalled finding himself face down, unable to correct himself, and screaming “No!”
His linemate asked him what to do. James instructs them to give him tourniquets, inject him with morphine, and tell his wife Emily how much he loves her. A week later, he woke up in a Maryland hospital and lost his legs, left arm and three fingers on his right hand.
At that time I was on the other side of the country, studying for a PhD Neuroscience. We sent several messages. He expressed how difficult it is for him to accept help after years of fierce competition.
James’ injury prompted me to attend a seminar on emerging fields Brain-computer interface-A device designed to read human neural activity and use it to drive robotic prostheses, speech synthesizers, or computer cursors.Once, a member of the Neuroscience Laboratory of Brown University showed a video Involving a person named Cathy HutchinsonThe researchers installed a system called BrainGate for her, which consists of a micro-electrode array implanted in the motor cortex, a plug on the top of the head, a signal amplifier the size of a shoebox, and a computer running software that can decode the patient’s nerves. composition. Signal.
In the video, Hutchinson tries to use a robotic arm to pick up a bottle of coffee with a straw. After a few minutes of intense concentration, her face as hard as a fist, she grabbed the bottle. She stopped, brought it to her mouth, and took a sip from the straw. Her face softened, and then she smiled happily. Her eyes exude a sense of accomplishment. The researchers applauded.
I want to applaud with them. Neuroscience is a field that lacks specific treatments. Few neurologic drugs are more effective than placebos, and researchers do not understand why this is the case. Even Tylenol is a mystery. New technologies and procedures can produce amazing results without clear mechanisms; Agreements are made through trial and error. Therefore, the promise to effectively improve the lives of people with movement disorders and physical disabilities is intoxicating.I imagine James playing video games, Repairing around his house, his career options are limitless, hug his future child with both arms.
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