The Minnesota NeuroSpin Initiative is pleased to invite you to its eighth seminar for the Fall 2022/Spring 2023 season. On May 12, Dr. Zhi Yang, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota will discuss his recent work related to:
Mind-Force Nerve Computer Interface
Although prosthetic arms with independently actuated digits are now available in the market, there is a lack of high-performance human-machine interfaces (HMIs) that can effectively decode the complex motor intentions of the brain. Currently available HMIs only support sequential choices within a limited number of pre-programmed hand grasp patterns. This often results in unsatisfactory daily use of the prosthesis by amputees.
In this talk, I will present the results of a pilot study involving upper limb amputees. Our proposed HMI captures weak neural signals from residual nerves in the amputated limb, and our advanced algorithms can decode complex human motor intentions with remarkable accuracy. Our HMI has been operational in the body environment for over a year, enabling amputees to precisely control a prosthetic hand with 15 degrees of freedom. These results demonstrate an unprecedented amount of information being decoded from the nerves and offer a promising conduit for connecting the brain to machines through peripheral neural pathways. In 2022, our work was granted an FDA Breakthrough Device designation, with the potential to significantly enhance the quality of life for amputees.
Seminar Details
Seminar Host
Prof. Jian-Ping Wang, University of Minnesota
Seminar Speaker
Zhi Yang, Associate Professor Department of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota
Date and Time
- May 12, 2023
- 11:30am-12:30pm CT
Registration for this seminar in no longer available.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Zhi Yang is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, where he leads cutting-edge research at the intersection of neuro-artificial intelligence, neural recording, and neuromodulation therapies. He is an accomplished author, having published over 70 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, and is the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award. Dr. Yang is also a co-founder of Fasikl, a pioneering medical device company that is dedicated to developing neuro-artificial intelligence devices for the treatment of movement disorders.