Cerebral palsy and other neuromuscular conditions can literally trap someone in their body with a perfectly functioning mind and no way to communicate. If afflicted with one of these conditions you would not be able to respond to the simplest request such as would you prefer chocolate or vanilla ice cream. Hopefully this will change in the future and free children from the purgatory that their bodies create for them.

Scientists at Bloorview Kids Rehab in Toronto have developed a prototype of a device that will be able to read minds. It uses near-infrared light to decipher the brain’s response when a person is offered a choice of two objects. In the most simplistic terms the device reads the intensity of the light that has been absorbed by the brain tissue and a computer is used to recognize the unique pattern of brain activity associated with preference.
Nine healthy adults participated in a study to test the accuracy of the device. They were shown two drinks on a computer screen. The device accurately identified their preference 80% of the time. The results of this ground breaking research have been published in the Journal of Neural Engineering.

The next step is to test adults over multiple days to ensure that brain patterns associated with preference are reliable over time. After that, sometime in the fall, testing will begin on teenagers with disabilities. Researchers will continue to refine the device in the hopes of allowing children who can’t speak or move the ability to communicate and eventually use wireless technology to make it portable. At long last there is hope for those facing a lifetime of imprisonment in a useless body.