"About 2 million people in the United States have diseases that impair their muscle control."

To help some of these patients communicate and control their environment, Dr. Jonathan Wolpaw and his colleagues at the Wadsworth Center in Albany, New York, are developing technologies that capture patients' electrical brain waves as they imagine performing certain activities. The brain waves are then translated into computer commands that allow patients to operate word-processing programs, and perhaps even electric wheelchairs or robotic arms. With these technologies, patients may eventually be able to leave their rooms and make their way in the world-all through the power of imagination.

For the full story, go to http://www.nibib1.nih.gov/eAdvances/102104.htm.