A Brain Implant That Turns Your Thoughts Into Text | Tom Oxley | TED

Translator: Paola Costa Reviewer: traduceTED USC

A few months ago,

Hai uns meses,

I surrendered the password to my Twitter account

deixeille o meu contrasinal de Twitter

to let a person with paralysis tweet out their thoughts.

a unha persoa con parálise para que chiase os seus pensamentos.

But I mean that literally.

E dígoo literalmente.

Philip O'Keefe can't use his fingers to type like you or I,

Philip O’Keefe non pode usar os dedos para escribir como calquera,

but thanks to a tiny brain implant,

pero, grazas a un implante cerebral minúsculo,

he was able to send the following tweets.

foi quen de chiar o seguinte:

"Hello world! Short tweet. Monumental progress."

“Ola, mundo! Chío curto. Progreso monumental.

"No need for keystrokes or voices.

Nin teclas nin voces.

I created this tweet just by thinking it."

Fixen este chío só con pensalo.

"My hope is that I pave the way

Agardo abrir o camiño

for people to be able to tweet through thoughts. Phil."

para que a xente poida chiar co pensamento. Phil”.

Now you might be thinking there are some people out there

Igual pensades que hai xente por aí

á que non se lle debería permitir chiar directamente o que pensa.

who should not be allowed to tweet directly from their brain.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

I agree.

Estou de acordo.

But for people with paralysis and disability,

Mais para a xente con parálise e discapacidade,

this technology can be life-changing.

esta tecnoloxía pode supor un antes e un despois.

I’m very excited to introduce you to Philip and Rodney.

Compráceme presentarvos a Philip e a Rodney.

They both have a neurodegenerative disease called ALS,

Os dous teñen unha enfermidade neurodexenerativa, ELA,

means they can't move their hands or speak clearly,

que lles impide mover as mans e falar con claridade,

but they can now text

mais agora poden emitir mensaxes

thanks to a brain-computer interface or BCI.

grazas a unha interface cerebro-ordenador ou BCI.

There were Philip’s brain signals up on the screen.

Velaí os sinais cerebrais de Philip na pantalla.

They’re connected to their computers via Bluetooth.

Conéctanse por Bluetooth ao ordenador.

The device is fully internalized, invisible to the outside world,

O dispositivo está totalmente interno, invisible para o mundo exterior,

and they learn to control the keyboard

e aprenden a controlar o teclado

with clicks directly coming from their brain.

a través de clics do seu cerebro.

Now BCIs conjure up images of science fiction like "The Matrix"

As BCI deseñan imaxes de ciencia ficción como en Matrix

with a cable jacked up into your brain through a hole in your skull.

cun cable conectado co cerebro a través dun buraco no cranio.

But I'm here to show you that the future can be much more elegant than that.

Estou aquí para amosarvos que o futuro pode ser moito máis elegante ca iso.

So we got this group chat going,

Temos unha conversa grupal aberta,

which I thought was a great idea,

o cal me parecía unha idea xenial,

until they started roasting me about the TED Talk --

até que comezaron a rirse de min pola charla TED

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Which they found hilarious.

Escacharon coa risa.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys,

Graciñas polo voto de confianza,

malditos australianos.

bloody Australians.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Now you can see it's still quite slow for them to type this way,

Como vedes, escriben con certa lentitude,

but this is like dial up speeds at the beginning of the Internet.

pero é como a conexión por liña conmutada ao principio de Internet.

This is a new Moore's Law.

Esta é unha nova lei de Moore.

We're just getting started.

Só acabamos de comezar.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

(Aplausos)

(Applause)

That's Philip.

Velaí tendes a Philip.

Durante décadas, este foi o soño de pacientes, coidadores,

This has been the dream of patients and caregivers,

doctors and scientists, for decades,

médicos, médicas e científicos e científicas

and for good reason.

por unha boa razón.

You may know someone who's lost the ability to use their hands,

Igual coñecedes alguén que perdeu a capacidade de uso das mans

maybe from a stroke or a spinal cord injury

por un infarto, unha lesión da medula espiñal,

or multiple sclerosis, paralysis.

esclerose múltiple ou parálise.

It comes in all shapes and sizes,

Aparece en todo tipo de formas e tamaños,

from minor inconvenience to life-threatening.

dende unha pequena molestia até o risco para a vida.

During my neurology residency, I cared for a man in his 40s.

Durante a miña residencia en neuroloxía, coidei dun home duns 40 anos.

He had a stroke and developed locked-in syndrome.

Sufrira un infarto e desenvolveu a síndrome do encarceramento,

Meant he couldn't move his body, except for his eyes, left or right.

isto é, non podía mover o corpo, só os ollos cara á dereita ou á esquerda.

His brain still worked like yours.

O cerebro funcionáballe como a todos nós.

He could see and hear and think and feel just like normal,

Podía escoitar, pensar e sentir coma sempre,

but he couldn't move or speak ever again.

pero nunca máis se movería ou falaría.

And in what were horrific circumstances,

E, nesas terribles circunstancias,

we supported his wish to be taken off life support.

apoiamos o seu desexo de desconectalo do soporte vital.

And so I've been wondering ever since,

E dende aquela levo pensando

was there not anything else that could have been done?

se non había nada que se puidese facer.

Connection is a fundamental human need.

A conexión é unha necesidade básica humana.

So many of our patients have lost the ability to speak,

Hai tantos pacientes que perderon a capacidade de falar,

let alone type, for years,

e xa non digo escribir, durante anos,

and they so desperately want to reconnect with their family,

e queren desesperadamente reconectar coa familia,

with their loved ones.

coas persoas que máis queren.

You know what the main request we get is?

Sabedes que é o que máis nos piden?

Text messaging.

Mensaxes de texto.

And then email.

E logo correos electrónicos.

Control over their smartphone.

Controlar o teléfono intelixente.

And shock horror,

E unha terrible sorpresa:

social media.

as redes sociais.

We've been speaking so much lately about the flaws of these technologies,

Levamos tempo e tempo falando das fallas destas tecnoloxías,

but for people with paralysis, this is a return to life.

mais para a xente con parálise é unha volta á vida.

BCIs make all of this possible.

As BCI fan que todo isto sexa posible.

Now, part of the problem has been

Agora ben, parte do problema é que

that BCIs typically require invasive surgery.

as BCI adoitan requirir cirurxía invasiva.

This is the Utah Array.

Esta é a matriz Utah.

This is designed similarly to all other BCIs

Está deseñada de xeito similar ás demais BCI

currently under development,

que se están desenvolvendo

which require drilling needles directly into the brain.

e precisa da perforación de agullas directamente no cerebro.

Now, this has been the basis of critical fundamental research

Pois ben, esta foi a base da investigación básica e crítica

over the last 20 years

dos últimos 20 anos

and the early proof that this technology really can perform.

e a primeira proba de que esta tecnoloxía pode funcionar.

But for patients, it means open-brain surgery,

Con todo, para os pacientes isto implica unha cirurxía cerebral aberta

which involves cutting through the skull with a saw.

e implica serrar o cranio.

And there are only about 150 functional neurosurgeons in the US

E só hai unhas 150 persoas que practican neurocirurxía funcional nos EUA

that can perform this procedure.

que poden realizar este procedemento.

Apart from the fact that the recovery is tricky,

Alén do feito de que a recuperación é complicada.

the brain doesn't really like having needles put into it.

Ao cerebro non lle gusta moito que lle insiran agullas.

It develops this foreign-body tissue rejection immune reaction over time.

Co tempo desenvolve unha reacción inmune de rexeitamento ao tecido estraño.

So I've been wondering, is there any other way into the brain?

Así que estiven pensando se hai algún outro camiño cara ao cerebro.

And there is, a secret back door.

E si que o hai, hai unha porta de atrás secreta.

The blood vessels are the natural highways into the brain.

Os vasos sanguíneos son as autoestradas naturais cara ao cerebro.

These are hollow tubes that connect every corner of the brain.

Son tubos ocos que conectan cada recuncho do cerebro.

The largest vein at the top there is right next to the motor cortex.

A vea máis grande que se ve aí arriba está xusto ao carón do córtex motor,

The exact part of the brain that we want to connect to

a parte exacta do cerebro que queremos conectar

to restore control to the outside world.

para recuperar o control do mundo externo.

How cool is that?

Manda truco!

Now we already know how to travel through the blood vessels.

Agora xa sabemos como desprazarnos polos vasos sanguíneos.

We've been doing it for 40 years, mostly going to the heart.

Levámolo facendo 40 anos, a maioría das veces en dirección ao corazón.

If anyone here today has had a heart attack,

Se alguén de aquí sufriu un ataque cardíaco,

there's a pretty good chance you've had a stent.

seguramente tivo unha prótese endovascular ou stent.

A stent is a metal scaffold delivered through a catheter,

Un stent é unha estrutura de metal que se subministra a través dun catéter

which opens up like a flower into the blood vessel.

e que se abre coma unha flor no vaso sanguíneo.

Millions of stents are delivered each year,

Cada ano instálanse millóns de stents

not in the OR,

e non só no quirófano,

but in the cath lab or catheter laboratory.

senón no laboratorio de cateterismo.

It's now common in the cath lab to navigate up into the brain

Xa é común que no laboratorio cheguen até o cerebro

through the blood vessels.

polos vasos sanguíneos.

And there are 2,500 physicians

E hai 2500 médicas e médicos

who can now navigate their way up into the brain.

que saben chegar até o cerebro.

But what's really amazing about this

Agora ben, o que é realmente abraiante

is that for BCIs we already know

é que xa sabemos que, para as BCI,

that devices can be left inside a blood vessel,

podemos deixar dispositivos dentro do vaso sanguíneo,

cells grow over it, incorporate it into the wall

pois as células medrarán arredor e incorporaranos ás paredes

like a tattoo under the skin,

coma unha tatuaxe baixo a pel,

and we're protected from that immune reaction.

e así teremos unha protección contra a reacción inmune.

This is part of the reason why our team became the first in the world

Esta é parte da razón pola que o noso equipo foi o primeiro do mundo

to receive a green light from the FDA to conduct clinical trials

que recibiu a aprobación da Administración de Alimentos e Medicamentos dos EUA

of a permanently implanted BCI.

para realizar ensaios clínicos dun implante BCI permanente.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

So what we had to do was figure out a way to put a sensor,

O que tiñamos que facer era idear unha forma de inserir un sensor

connected to this crosslinks of the stent

que conectase coa retícula do stent

that could record that brain activity.

e puidese rexistrar a actividade cerebral.

To do that, we had to do a complete overhaul of stent manufacturing.

Para conseguilo, tivemos que reformular a fabricación do stent.

This is the end result.

Velaquí o resultado final.

I think it's very beautiful.

É ben bonito.

Then connect it to a cable

Logo conéctase cun cable

which brings the information out of the brain

que extrae a información do cerebro

and do it all in a way that it can be delivered in the cath lab.

de xeito que se pode levar até o laboratorio de cateterismo.

This way we can make BCI accessible not to the thousands of people,

Así podemos facilitar o acceso das BCI non só a milleiros de persoas,

but to the millions of people who need this technology.

senón a millóns que precisan desta tecnoloxía.

So it wasn't easy, took us ten years,

Non foi doado, levounos dez anos,

but I'm very excited to show you guys.

pero emocióname ensinarvos o seguinte.

We called this the Stentrode.

Este é o Stentrode.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Graham Felstead, an incredible human being suffering with ALS,

Graham Felstead, un marabilloso ser humano que sofre ELA,

became the first person in the world

converteuse na primeira persoa do mundo

to receive and use one of these brain-computer interfaces.

en recibir e empregar unha destas interfaces cerebro-ordenador.

And he has very generously offered you, the world,

E con moita largueza ofrécevos, ao mundo enteiro,

a chance to see what it looks like inside his brain.

a oportunidade de ver o seu cerebro por dentro.

Would you like to see?

Queredes velo?

Audience: Yes!

Público: Si!

TO: Seeing this video for the first time

Ver o vídeo por primeira vez

was one of the most incredible moments of my life.

foi un dos momentos máis incribles da miña vida.

I was standing in the cath lab,

Estaba no laboratorio de cateterismo,

Dr. Peter Mitchell had just completed the surgery

o Dr. Peter Mitchell completara a cirurxía

and you can see the device, the outline of device,

e podedes ver aí o dispositivo, o seu contorno,

sitting inside the blood vessel there.

pousado dentro do vaso sanguíneo.

So this popped up on the screen

De súpeto, apareceu isto na pantalla

and it just felt like we were witnessing something new in the world.

e semellaba que estabamos a ser testemuñas de algo novo no mundo.

I had tingles down my spine,

Sentín un calafrío

I've got them now thinking about it again.

e aínda o sinto cando volvo pensar naquilo.

I turned to my colleague Pete,

Vireime cara ao meu colega Pete

and I said something poetic and profound like,

e díxenlle algo profundo e poético:

"Pete, holy shit!"

“Cago no demo, Pete!”.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And then two hours later, something even more amazing happened.

Dúas horas despois pasou algo aínda máis sorprendente.

Graham espertou e preguntou: “Estou vivo?”.

Graham woke up, and he asked, “Am I alive?”

And our nurse Kristine broke out in tears of relief.

A nosa enfermeira, Kristine, rompeu a chorar do alivio.

It was a phenomenal moment.

Foi un momento impresionante.

Once it's in place,

Unha vez no seu sitio,

it's connected to this tiny antenna that sits under the skin in the chest.

conéctase a esta anteniña que fica baixo a pel do peito.

This collects the raw brain data

Isto recolle datos cerebrais en bruto

and sends it out of the body wirelessly

e envíaos fóra do corpo sen fíos

to then connect with external devices.

para conectar despois con dispositivos externos.

It's always on and ready to go.

Sempre está aceso e listo para funcionar,

Kind of like how your brain is meant to work.

similar á forma de traballar que ten o cerebro.

So here's how it works.

Así é como funciona.

Our engineers work with our patients to decode specific movements.

As enxeñeiras traballaron con pacientes para descodificar movementos concretos.

So we tell the patient, “Press down your foot.”

Dixémoslles aos pacientes: “Preme co pé“.

So they'll repeatedly press down their foot.

E premían co pé repetidamente.

You won't see the foot moving because they're paralyzed,

Non ides ver como moven o pé porque están paralizados,

but we've been able to determine

pero fomos capaces de determinar

which brain signals are generally linked to “Press down your foot.”

que sinais cerebrais adoitan estar conectadas con “preme co pé“.

The black dotted line is the moment of pressing down the foot,

A liña de puntos negros é o momento no que premen co pé.

and you can see the brain signal is different before to after,

Podedes ver que o sinal cerebral é distinto antes e despois,

which means we can turn that into a switch.

o que significa que o podemos mudar nun interruptor.

Now we repeat this for several different types of movements,

Repetímolo en varios tipos de movementos,

say, open/close your hand or pincer-grip your finger.

como abrir e pechar a man ou usar os dedos como pinzas.

Now, that may not seem like much,

Quizais non parece moito,

but these become the building blocks for every single interaction

mais son os alicerces de cada interacción

on a digital device that is needed for control.

que se precisa para controlar un dispositivo dixital.

Converted to

Isto convértese

click, up, down, left, right, menu, back, etc.

en clic, arriba, abaixo, esquerda, dereita, menú, atrás etc.

But what's really amazing is that to some degree,

O que é incrible é que, até certo punto,

this process,

este proceso,

our brain signals, are universal.

os nosos sinais cerebrais, son universais.

So the brain signal for “Press down your foot” for me

Deste xeito, o sinal cerebral que teño para “preme co pé”

is the same as it is for you.

é igual para min e para vós.

Now this means that we're creating a dictionary of the brain

Isto significa que estamos a crear un dicionario do cerebro

across all humans.

para todos os seres humanos.

This is going to make BCI truly scalable.

Isto vai facer que as BCI sexan realmente escalables.

As Philip once said to me,

Como me dixo Philip unha vez:

"It's kind of like learning how to ride a bike.

“É como aprender a andar en bici.

It takes a bit of practice, but once you're rolling,

Cómpre practicar, pero, cando estás pedaleando,

it becomes natural.

vólvese natural.

Now I just look on the screen where I want to click and I'm texting,

Agora só teño que mirar cara á pantalla onde quero premer

messaging the world via Twitter."

e xa podo falar por Twitter”.

But Graham,

Mais Graham

he said, as his ALS was progressing,

dixo, a medida que a ELA avanzaba,

that it gave him immense comfort to know that even if his body was failing,

que o confortaba inmensamente saber que, aínda que o seu corpo fallase,

he was always going to be able to tell his wife that he loved her.

sempre lle podía dicir á súa muller que a quería.

In the future,

No futuro,

I'm really excited about the breakthroughs BCI could deliver to other conditions

estou ansioso polos avances que as BCI poden achegar a outras enfermidades

like epilepsy, depression and dementia.

como a epilepsia, a depresión ou a demencia.

But beyond that,

Pero máis alá diso,

what is this going to mean for humanity?

que vai supor para a humanidade?

What's really got me thinking is the future of communication.

O que me deu que pensar é o futuro da comunicación.

Take emotion.

Por exemplo, a emoción.

Have you ever considered how hard it is to express how you feel?

Reparastes algunha vez no difícil que é expresar o que sentimos?

You have to self-reflect,

Temos que reflexionar,

package the emotion into words

transformar as emocións en palabras

and then use the muscles of your mouth to speak those words.

e usar os músculos da boca para pronunciar as palabras.

But you really just want someone to know how you feel.

Pero o que queremos é que alguén saiba como nos sentimos.

For some people with certain conditions,

Para a xente que ten certas afeccións,

that's impossible.

é algo imposible.

So what if, rather than using your words,

E se, no canto de usar as palabras,

you could throw your emotion just for a few seconds?

puidésemos expulsar as emocións só por uns segundos

And have them really feel how you feel.

e facer que sintan o que sentimos?

At that moment, we would have realized

Nese momento decatariámonos

that the necessary use of words to express our current state of being

de que a necesidade de empregar palabras para expresar o noso estado

was always going to fall short.

sempre quedaría curta.

The full potential of the brain would then be unlocked.

Desbloqueariamos o potencial completo do cerebro.

But for right now,

Polo de agora,

BCI is about restoring the lives of millions of people with paralysis.

as BCI van restaurar as vidas de millóns de persoas con parálise.

After years of feeling trapped,

Logo de pasar anos atrapadas,

this technology promises the return of autonomy and independence.

esta tecnoloxía promete a recuperación da autonomía e da independencia.

But what I really mean is dignity.

Refírome, realmente, á dignidade.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)