Algorithms Replace Spinal Cord In New Approach to Neural
Prosthetics  Over years of eavesdropping on the brain with with
electrodes, neuroscientists and engineers have decoded the
neural patterns of intention in both humans and monkeys. Since
then, most labs have plugged these diverted signals into robotic
arms, proving that they can use the brain to remotely control
sophisticated machinery while undoubtedly giving tremendous hope
to people with severed limbs.   Until now, this research has
largely ignored patients with spinal cord injury whose limbs are
still there, but which no longer work because they no longer
receive stimulation. Lee Miller, a neuroscientist at
Northwestern University is working on an elegant solution
specifically designed for this population. Rather than feeding
recorded brain activity into a prosthetic limb, Miller has shown
that he can loop around a dysfunctional spinal cord and plug
back into a paralyzed arm, reanimating it with electrical
pulses.  In a study published last week in t