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

譯者: Yvonne Hsiao 審譯者: 至磊Zi Le 黃Ng

A few months ago,

幾個月前，

I surrendered the password to my Twitter account

我將我的推特密碼拱手交出，

to let a person with paralysis tweet out their thoughts.

讓一位癱瘓者在推特上發文。

But I mean that literally.

這是實際上發生的事。

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

菲利普．奧基夫無法 像你我一樣用手指打字，

but thanks to a tiny brain implant,

但多虧了一個微小的腦部植入裝置，

he was able to send the following tweets.

他成功地發表了這篇推文——

"Hello world! Short tweet. Monumental progress."

「你好世界！簡短的推文， 重大的突破。」

"No need for keystrokes or voices.

「不需要按鍵或聲控，

I created this tweet just by thinking it."

我光用想的來發這篇推文。」

"My hope is that I pave the way

「希望這為人們開了先例，

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

成功地靠思考來發文。菲利普。」

Now you might be thinking there are some people out there

現在你也許在想，

有些人應該被禁止 直接從大腦發表推文。

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

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I agree.

我同意。

But for people with paralysis and disability,

但對於癱瘓和身心障礙者來說，

this technology can be life-changing.

這項技術卻可能改變人生。

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

我很興奮能向各位介紹 菲利普還有羅德尼。

They both have a neurodegenerative disease called ALS,

他們兩位皆患有 神經退化性疾病「漸凍症」，

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

手不能動，也不能清楚地說話，

but they can now text

但他們現在卻可以打字。

thanks to a brain-computer interface or BCI.

多虧這套腦機介面技術 BCI。

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

螢幕上顯示的是菲利普的大腦訊號，

They’re connected to their computers via Bluetooth.

此訊號透過藍芽的方式與電腦連線。

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

這部裝置完全內嵌， 無法用肉眼察覺。

and they learn to control the keyboard

使用者學著在腦內直接點擊， 藉此操作鍵盤。

with clicks directly coming from their brain.

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

腦機介面總讓人想到 《駭客任務》那種科幻畫面，

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

想像著一把電線穿進頭顱連結大腦。

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

但我想展示的未來， 其實比這更優美。

So we got this group chat going,

有天我們開了個群組對話，

which I thought was a great idea,

我以為是個好主意，

until they started roasting me about the TED Talk --

直到他們開始損我的 TED 演說，

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Which they found hilarious.

而且他們樂在其中。

Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys,

多謝你們的精神支持，

這些澳洲來的。

bloody Australians.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

他們目前的打字速度還很慢，

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

但這就如同早期的撥號上網。

This is a new Moore's Law.

這是新的摩爾定律。

We're just getting started.

我們才剛起步。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

That's Philip.

這位是菲利普。

This has been the dream of patients and caregivers,

這是病患、家屬、醫師、科學家 幾十年來的夢想。

doctors and scientists, for decades,

and for good reason.

原因很簡明。

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

你也許認識某個喪失手部功能的人，

maybe from a stroke or a spinal cord injury

也許是因為中風或脊髓受傷，

or multiple sclerosis, paralysis.

因為多發性硬化症或癱瘓。

It comes in all shapes and sizes,

影響的層面各異，

from minor inconvenience to life-threatening.

從造成輕微的不方便到危及性命。

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

在我當神經內科住院醫師時， 照護了一位四十多歲的病患。

He had a stroke and developed locked-in syndrome.

他中風後併發閉鎖症後群。

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

他全身癱瘓， 只剩眼球可以左右移動，

His brain still worked like yours.

但他的大腦還正常運作著。

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

他的視覺、聽覺、 神智、感受都正常，

but he couldn't move or speak ever again.

但他這輩子再也無法移動或說話。

And in what were horrific circumstances,

在那悲慘的情況下，

we supported his wish to be taken off life support.

我們依照病患的要求 移除了維生系統。

And so I've been wondering ever since,

從那天起我就一直在想，

was there not anything else that could have been done?

我們真的束手無策了嗎？

Connection is a fundamental human need.

溝通是人類最基本的需求。

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

但我們的許多病患 失去了說話的能力，

let alone type, for years,

更別提打字，數年來皆如此。

and they so desperately want to reconnect with their family,

而他們最熱切的期望是 和家人及所愛的人重新連結。

with their loved ones.

You know what the main request we get is?

你知道最常見的願望是什麼嗎？

Text messaging.

傳訊息、

And then email.

使用電子郵件、

Control over their smartphone.

使用自己的智慧型手機。

And shock horror,

還有令人震驚的，

social media.

上社群網站。

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

近年來關於這些科技的 負面評論層出不窮，

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

但對於癱瘓者來說， 這卻是個重生的機會。

BCIs make all of this possible.

腦機介面讓這一切有可能。

Now, part of the problem has been

然而，部分問題在於腦機介面的植入 通常要求侵入式手術。

that BCIs typically require invasive surgery.

This is the Utah Array.

此裝置為 Utah Array。

This is designed similarly to all other BCIs

它的設計概念與其他 開發中的腦機介面相似，

currently under development,

which require drilling needles directly into the brain.

以鑽釘把它固定在腦袋上。

Now, this has been the basis of critical fundamental research

此方法一直是二十年來的研究基礎。

over the last 20 years

and the early proof that this technology really can perform.

初期證據顯示此方法真的可行。

But for patients, it means open-brain surgery,

但對病患來說，這代表著開腦手術。

which involves cutting through the skull with a saw.

病患的頭骨必須被鋸開。

And there are only about 150 functional neurosurgeons in the US

而美國只有約一百五十位執業中的 腦神經專科醫師可以實行這項手術。

that can perform this procedure.

Apart from the fact that the recovery is tricky,

先不談手術後復癒的風險，

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

我們的大腦真的不喜歡有釘子在裡面。

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

我們的身體會逐漸地 對異物產生排斥反應。

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

所以我一直在尋找 其他連結大腦的方式。

And there is, a secret back door.

終於我們找到了這道隱藏式後門。

The blood vessels are the natural highways into the brain.

血管是進入大腦的天然高速公路，

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

它的中空結構連結著 大腦的每個角落。

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

腦內最粗的靜脈剛好流經 大腦的運動皮層旁，

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

而這一區正是我們 需要連結的大腦部位，

to restore control to the outside world.

以重新建立大腦對外部的控制。

How cool is that?

這不是很酷嗎？

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

而我們早就知道如何在血管裡游走，

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

我們已經做了四十年， 大部分為了抵達心臟。

If anyone here today has had a heart attack,

若現場任何人曾經心臟病發，

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

那他很有可能做過心臟支架。

A stent is a metal scaffold delivered through a catheter,

心臟支架是一個 由心導管置入的金屬設備。

which opens up like a flower into the blood vessel.

它在血管中能像花朵一樣展開。

Millions of stents are delivered each year,

每年有數百萬隻支架被植入人體中，

not in the OR,

不在手術室內進行，

but in the cath lab or catheter laboratory.

而是在心導管室裡完成。

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

心導管室內已經很常見到 導入大腦血管的動作。

through the blood vessels.

And there are 2,500 physicians

而目前有兩千五百名醫師有這項技術。

who can now navigate their way up into the brain.

But what's really amazing about this

但真正讓人驚豔的，

是這些我們剛提到的腦機介面裝置，

is that for BCIs we already know

它可以被留在血管內，

that devices can be left inside a blood vessel,

cells grow over it, incorporate it into the wall

細胞組織會沿著裝置的周圍生長，

like a tattoo under the skin,

就像是皮膚下層的刺青，

and we're protected from that immune reaction.

因此它不會受到免疫系統攻擊。

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

這也是我們團隊成為第一個 得到美國食品藥物管理局批准，

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

進行永久置入性腦機介面 臨床試驗的其中一個原因。

of a permanently implanted BCI.

(Applause)

（掌聲）

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

而我們需要想辦法將感應器

connected to this crosslinks of the stent

連接上支架的交叉處，

that could record that brain activity.

用以記錄大腦活動。

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

我們的辦法是 重新設計一個新的支架。

This is the end result.

這是最終成果，

I think it's very beautiful.

我認為它非常地美。

Then connect it to a cable

然後連接上傳輸線，

which brings the information out of the brain

將大腦的訊息傳輸出來，

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

並確保整個手術能在心導管室完成，

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

如此一來，腦機界面 不僅能造福數千人，

but to the millions of people who need this technology.

甚至數百萬人們能因此受惠。

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

這一切都不容易，我們花了十年。

but I'm very excited to show you guys.

如今我很興奮地要展現給各位——

We called this the Stentrode.

我們叫它 Stentrode。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Graham Felstead, an incredible human being suffering with ALS,

格拉姆．費爾斯特德是一位 受漸凍症所苦的不可思議的人，

became the first person in the world

他成為史上第一位

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

使用這項腦機介面的人。

And he has very generously offered you, the world,

他非常大方地與這個世界分享

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

一窺他大腦內部的機會。

Would you like to see?

你們想看嗎？

Audience: Yes!

觀眾：想！

TO: Seeing this video for the first time

當我第一次看到這個影像，

was one of the most incredible moments of my life.

是我此生最不可思議的一刻。

I was standing in the cath lab,

我當時站在心導管室裡，

Dr. Peter Mitchell had just completed the surgery

彼得．米切爾醫生 才剛完成這項手術。

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

可以看見血管內的裝置的輪廓。

sitting inside the blood vessel there.

So this popped up on the screen

當這出現在螢幕上，

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

我們好像見證了世界的一項創舉。

I had tingles down my spine,

我能感覺一陣電流經過我的身體，

I've got them now thinking about it again.

我現在還是歷歷在目。

I turned to my colleague Pete,

我轉身對我的同事彼得

and I said something poetic and profound like,

說了極具詩意、激勵人心的一句話：

"Pete, holy shit!"

「彼得，我靠！」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

兩小時過後，更美妙的事情發生了。

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

格拉姆醒來後問：「我還活著嗎？」

And our nurse Kristine broke out in tears of relief.

護理師克莉斯汀 如釋重負地流出眼淚。

It was a phenomenal moment.

這一切都很不可思議！

Once it's in place,

當手術完成後，

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

有一個小小的接收器 被放置在胸部皮膚下

This collects the raw brain data

來接受大腦訊號，

and sends it out of the body wirelessly

然後將其無線傳輸到 另一個外部裝置。

to then connect with external devices.

It's always on and ready to go.

隨時就緒，

Kind of like how your brain is meant to work.

如同大腦天生的設計。

So here's how it works.

系統的運作如下：

Our engineers work with our patients to decode specific movements.

我們的工程師和使用者 一同解碼大腦的動作指令。

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

我們請病患蹬腳跟，

So they'll repeatedly press down their foot.

並讓他們重複做一樣的動作。

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

不過因為他們癱瘓了， 你看不到腳跟的移動，

but we've been able to determine

但我們已經可以分辨出

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

哪一些大腦訊號和蹬腳跟有關聯。

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

這黑色的虛線代表的是 蹬腳跟訊號發出的瞬間，

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

你可以看出大腦訊號的前後差別，

which means we can turn that into a switch.

我們再把這些訊號轉換為開關。

Now we repeat this for several different types of movements,

當我們加入其他不同的動作，

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

比如說：睜、閉眼 或是用食指和拇指輕抓。

Now, that may not seem like much,

這也許聽起來沒什麼，

but these become the building blocks for every single interaction

但這些訊號累積成為

所有操作電子裝置所需的互動指令。

on a digital device that is needed for control.

Converted to

轉換成點擊、上、下、左、右、 選單和返回等功能。

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

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

但最驚人之處在於，

某程度上我們的大腦訊號非常相似。

this process,

our brain signals, are universal.

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

我的大腦發出的蹬腳跟訊號

is the same as it is for you.

跟你的是一樣的。

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

代表我們正在發展大腦訊號的辭典，

across all humans.

全人類共通。

This is going to make BCI truly scalable.

這使腦機介面得以 真正的大規模實行。

As Philip once said to me,

就像菲利普說過的：

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

「這有點像學騎腳踏車，

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

需要一些練習，一旦你抓到訣竅，

it becomes natural.

一切就變得很自然。

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

現在我只要看著螢幕上要按的按鍵，

我就可以發推文到全世界。」

messaging the world via Twitter."

But Graham,

格拉姆也說了，

he said, as his ALS was progressing,

雖然他的漸凍症持續惡化，

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

但讓他感到欣慰的是， 不管未來他的身體如何不聽使令，

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

他都有辦法告訴他的妻子 他有多麼地愛她。

In the future,

我對於腦機介面未來能造福的 不同人群感到非常興奮，

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

like epilepsy, depression and dementia.

例如癲癇、憂鬱症和失智症。

But beyond that,

不僅於此，

what is this going to mean for humanity?

對於全人類能帶來什麼？

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

我真正好奇的是未來的溝通模式。

Take emotion.

像是情感，

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

你有想過表達情感其實很困難嗎？

You have to self-reflect,

你要先自省，

package the emotion into words

找到適合的文字來表達，

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

然後動用臉部的肌肉說出這些話，

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

你終究只想讓這個人知道你的感覺。

For some people with certain conditions,

但對於某些人來說，

that's impossible.

這卻是不可能的任務。

So what if, rather than using your words,

試著想像當你不需要仰賴文字，

you could throw your emotion just for a few seconds?

你可以將情感完整的傳遞給別人， 只需幾秒鐘的時間，

And have them really feel how you feel.

讓他人真正的感同身受。

At that moment, we would have realized

這時我們才能了解，

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

依賴文字來詮釋自己的狀態

was always going to fall short.

總有它的局限。

The full potential of the brain would then be unlocked.

這時大腦的潛力才能真正被解鎖。

But for right now,

在此之前，

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

腦機介面 BCI 能幫助 百萬名癱瘓者重建生活，

After years of feeling trapped,

將他們從多年的精神牢獄解救出來。

this technology promises the return of autonomy and independence.

這項技術承諾幫助人們 找回自主性和獨立性。

But what I really mean is dignity.

更深層的含義是：找回生命的尊嚴。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）