癱瘓了4年的人通過意念控制的外骨骼重新行走

這個癱瘓了4年的人終于可以通過意念控制的外骨骼重新行走了

Someone once said that the greatest inventions are those made to ease the life of others. And this time, we’re not talking about some conventional things made for the convenience of the masses, no. This time, all the undivided attention goes to the scientists putting all of their efforts to make humanity step up a level and help immobilized people walk again. Sure, it may seem like it’s straight out of a sci-fi book at first but just take a look at the brilliant work they’ve done already in making this completely paralyzed man take his first steps again after being bed-ridden for 4 years!

有人曾經(jīng)說過，最偉大的發(fā)明是那些使別人的生活變得輕松的發(fā)明。這一次，我們討論的不是一些為大眾方便而做的傳統(tǒng)的東西，不是。這一次，所有的注意力都集中在科學(xué)家們身上，他們付出了所有的努力，讓人類更上一層樓，幫助癱瘓的人們重新行走。當(dāng)然，乍一看這像是直接從科幻小說里出來的，但只要看看他們已經(jīng)做的出色的工作，讓這個完全癱瘓的男人在臥床4年后重新邁出第一步!

28-year-old Thibault was paralyzed 4 years ago after suffering a spine injury

28歲的Thibault四年前脊椎受傷后癱瘓

A French man known by the name of Thibault suffered a severe injury to his spine after falling 15 meters at a night club four years ago. The injury left him paralyzed from the shoulders down but he later regained some movement in his biceps and left wrist and was therefore able to operate a wheelchair with his left arm.

四年前，一名叫蒂博(Thibault)的法國男子在一家夜總會從15米高處墜落，脊椎嚴(yán)重受傷。這次受傷使他從肩膀以下癱瘓，但后來他的肱二頭肌和左手腕恢復(fù)了一些活動，因此他可以用左臂操縱輪椅。

But was able to walk again with this mind-controlled exoskeleton

但通過這種意念控制的外骨骼，他又能走路了

The former optician spent two years in hospital after his injury and enrolled in the exoskeleton trial with Clinatec company and the University of Grenoble in 2017. He first started to use brain implants to control the movements of a virtual character in a computer game and only then moved on to walking in the suit himself.

這位前眼鏡商受傷后在醫(yī)院住了兩年，并于2017年參加了Clinatec公司和格勒諾布爾大學(xué)的外骨骼試驗。他先是開始使用大腦植入物來控制電腦游戲中的虛擬人物的動作，直到后來才開始自己穿西裝走路。

He controls it via two sensors implanted between his skin and his brain

他通過植入皮膚和大腦之間的兩個傳感器控制它

At this point, both his movements and the suit are far from being perfect but Thibault is really excited by the progress he’s made. He said walking in the exo-suit felt otherworldly. “It was like [being the] first man on the Moon. I forgot what it is to stand, I forgot I was taller than a lot of people in the room,” said Thibault.

在這一點上，他的動作和宇航服都遠(yuǎn)非完美，但他對自己所取得的進(jìn)步感到非常興奮。他說穿著太空服走路感覺就像到了另一個世界。“這就像第一個登上月球的人。我忘記了站著是什么感覺，我忘記了我比房間里的很多人都高。”

Sensors record the activity from the part of the brain that’s responsible for movement and sensation

傳感器記錄大腦中負(fù)責(zé)運動和感覺的部分的活動

Saying it could help immobilized patients walk on their own in the near future is really optimistic but it’s a huge step for humanity nonetheless. Previous attempts in making such suits involved more invasive sensors and required wires to be attached to the computers. This robo-suit is completely wireless but is still not suitable for outside use, as it has to be hung from the ceiling for stability.

說它能在不久的將來幫助癱瘓的病人自己走路是非常樂觀的，但它仍然是人類的一大步。之前的嘗試涉及到更多的侵入式傳感器，并且需要連接到電腦上的電線。這款機(jī)器人服完全是無線的，但仍然不適合在室外使用，因為它必須掛在天花板上才能保持穩(wěn)定。

Then an algorithm interprets the signals and transforms them into movements

然后，一個算法解釋這些信號，并把它們轉(zhuǎn)換成動作

Even though the exoskeleton can only be used in the lab, for now, the whole research is being compiled in order to ease and improve the quality of life for patients with movement-related disabilities all over the world. At this time, the robo-suit is quite simplistic. It requires Thibault to think “walk” to set off a chain reaction, resulting in the suit moving his legs forward. He has a bit more freedom with his hand, which he can move in a three-dimensional space.

雖然外骨骼只能在實驗室中使用，但目前，整個研究正在進(jìn)行中，目的是為了緩解和改善全世界與運動相關(guān)的殘疾患者的生活質(zhì)量。在這個時候，機(jī)器人服裝是非常簡單的。這需要Thibault思考“行走”來引發(fā)連鎖反應(yīng)，從而使他的腿向前移動。他的手有更多的自由，可以在三維空間中移動。

Enabling him to walk as a real-life cyborg

使他能像正常人一樣行走

Image credits: thelancet