The core technology of the fourth industrial revolution was to make people able to read and write human brains. Big data that are unknown left many imperfect tasks to the brain engineering field. 

On March 20, Neurallink Corp., a brain neural engineering startup, revealed footage of a patient who had a computer chip implemented in his brain playing chess only with the person's thoughts. At the basis of the test that a lot of people were interested in, is brain-computer interface (BCI) technology.

The BCI that first emerged in the 1970s is a technology that connects a brain and a computer and exchanges information between them. Pattern recognition technology is an engineering basis and it manipulates external devices by figuring out the users' intention through brain wave analysis with an electrode implanted in a brain.

It is actively developed as a technology that helps people with physical loss of their limbs to live a normal life. The largest goal of BCI is to help paralyzed people manipulate machines such as a computer mouse, robot arm, and wheelchair.

Through such trials the development of artificial visual and audio technology for the blind or the deaf is possible. Further, it shows expansionary characteristics in 'electric pill' forms that cure patients with brain diseases.

As society gets older, many companies are investing in the BCI technologies. Many moves exist at Hanyang University to research brain engineering technologies including the BCI.

Here is a talk with Professors Lee Byung-hun, Jang Dong-pyo, and Im Chang-hwan (all from Major in Biomedical Engineering at the School of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, Seoul Campus) who lead the biomedical engineering, about the BCI technology and electric pills.

Professor Lee researches technologies that enable mutual communications and wireless charging that connect 웹툰사이트 토토사이트 and external devices through a circuit system that effectively collects 웹툰사이트 토토사이트 signals.

The 'telepathy chip' that Neurallink created is made of an electrode part, a string form that reads brain waves, and an electric chip part that connects signals with external devices. 'Recording' is a method that reads brain signals and sends them out of the brain and 'stimulation' is a method that sends external information inside the brain through electric stimulation. The recording goes through stages of brain wave measuring, transformation to digital data, data analysis, and device delivery.

The brain wave first analyzed eliminates unnecessary signals through filters and separates signals for analysis. At this time, to convert the separated signal into digital data, at least twice the amplification process is performed, and our brain continues to accumulate signals, so communication speed must be considered together. Heat is generated when the power required to transmit the amplified signal at a high speed is excessively consumed.

Professor Lee, who said the core of the hardware inside the human body lies at the 'electric' system, said, "Due to temperature issues, the chip should be low-powered. However, the characteristics bring limitations to the brain's mutual transmittance. Considering many limitations, making chips in such ways is hard."

Saying that electricity is essential in battery charging for medical devices, he said, "To overcome such limits, I am researching wireless power transmittance in biomedical hardware fields."

Conducting Research on Urinary Diseases

The BCI technology that measures and transmits brain signals does not stop just at reading the signals. It inputs electric stimulations and can be developed as electric pills that help medical diseases.

Professor Lee is currently working with Gangbuk Samsung Hospital on a device that measures and stimulates signs of urination-related diseases. He said, "The use of ultra-small and low-power elements will be very important in the hardware technology used in the device."

Professor Jang studies a real-time chemical signal-measuring technology of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin.

Important information is classified as 'electric signals' and 'chemical signals'. The BCI technology of Neurallink measures electric signals from the brain.

Chemical signals are hard to measure for a long time compared to electric signals. However, if they can be successfully measured, a development in various biomedical treatments.

When an electrical voltage is applied to the brain, a current is generated in dopamine through redox reactions, and dopamine can be identified by measuring the corresponding current. The technology developed by Professor Jang has the advantage of measuring the base concentration of dopamine in real-time, in addition to measuring the change in dopamine.

Parkinson's disease is a problem that occurs because the amount of dopamine in the brain is small. Using the technology developed by Professor Jang, it can measure dopamine in real time and provide electrical stimulation.

Developing Electric Medicine that Stimulates Deep Inside the 웹툰사이트 토토사이트

Professor Jang and Professor Im are researching to improve the previous electric medicine's limitations.

Currently, the technique that stimulates the deep side of the brain uses the method according to the 'Mac game effect'. The Mac game effect refers to a method in which different frequencies interfere to stimulate the brain.

For example, if two metal electrodes are attached to both sides of the head and direct currents of 1000 Hz and 1002 Hz, respectively, are passed, a stimulation of 2 Hz, the difference in frequency, occurs where the two currents combine. However, this method has a problem in that skin damage occurs when the current is strongly reduced.

They said, "We are using ceramic electrodes that minimize skin damage and stimulate the brain to overcome the limit."

Continued, they showed their expectation by saying, "The research will be useful in treating Parkinson's Disease and depression."

Professor Im is conducting electronic pills to treat 웹툰사이트 토토사이트 diseases and non-invasive BCI research for the general public.

There are invasive and non-invasive methods of reading brain signals. The invasive method requires a brain skull to be opened and to implement electrodes to the brain just like Neurallink, but it is almost impossible for normal people to use it. In contrast, the non-invasive method does not open the brain but gets signals from external devices.

In Korea and abroad, there is much research to find out the 'brain state' such as emotions, concentration, fatigue, and stress. This suggests that if non-invasive BCI becomes more sophisticated, it can be applied to various fields.

Professor Im succeeded in developing a "neuromarketing" technology that identifies preferences for specific targets with brain waves in 2022. "Non-invasive BCI technology that can be used in various fields, such as detecting drivers' attention loss and giving alarm warnings or detecting changes in people's concentration to recommend customized learning contents, will continue to emerge," he said.

Continuous Speech BCI Research from 2022

Professor Im is developing a speech BCI in Korean from 2022. The speech BCI is a technology that plays words in a human brain to an actual voice using cortical conduction (ECoG) methods.

For now, he succeeded in synthesizing brain waves occurring during a speech to a voice. He said, "I want to develop a speech BCI technology development that synthesizes words in human minds."

About their motivations for studying biomedical engineering, the three professors said, 'question and fun towards the unknown'. 

Professor Lee said, "It is fun and interesting to see the human body form a nervous system by storing the energy gained from life. When looking at the research I did myself being used in the disease treatment process, I feel I am helpful to the society."

Professor Jang also said, "If you are looking for a field that feels fun from the turbulent world and slowly march forward, this field is the best." Continued, he showed his dream of making a medical device company for students.

"For students who want to have dreams in biomedical engineering, I wish there should be a company with a good medical system. For now, we are conducting research in cooperation with Mayo Clinic in the United States. Based on that experience, I want to make a medical device company."

Professor Im left the last message, saying, "We ask for a lot of attention to various research by Hanyang University's professors toward brain engineering technology."

"I think Hanyang University is taking a significant lead in the field of brain engineering technology. We are conducting various biomedical engineering studies, including BCI, so please keep an eye on it. If there is one dream, I hope Hanyang University can grow further into a mecca for brain engineering!"