2005-04-07 17:53:48.06173+00 by radix 3 comments
I'm a bit stunned at how quickly this comes on the heels of the last one. It's also symmetrical: the last one was about data out, this one about data in.
In short, Sony is taking out a patent on a process to create virtual sensory data by directly stimulating the brain with ultrasound. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi...&OS=PN/6,729,337&RS=PN/6,729,337
radix
[ related topics: Intellectual Property ]
comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2005-04-07 18:25:47.562516+00 by: petronius
Back when I produced training materials for the Radiological Society, we were told that ultrasound diagnosis wasn't used in the brain because the skull insulated the brain tissue, or rather that the conduction and return differential of bone was so radically different from soft tissue or liquid (blood) that the capture systems simply coulden't handle the jump. The lungs were also off limits, because air produced the mirror-image problem. Certainly the effect will have to be contended with in the Sony system. I'll just wait for Science News to explain it all for me.
#Comment Re: made: 2005-04-08 19:48:44.037902+00 by: petronius
Update: It's bullshit. According to this report Sony has made no experiments whatsoever, and that this patent is based on an "inspiration", rather than any actual hardware. Expect a big patent fight when vaudeville mentalist The Amazing Zontar claims prior art.
#Comment Re: made: 2005-04-08 21:25:53.705643+00 by: meuon
I was waiting.. and not holding my breath. - Prediction: pinpoint induction of EMF (Electro Motive/Magnetic Field) will be the means this is finally accomplished, and as Petronius has already mentioned, the skull is a problem.
And saying that: NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Tomography) - Now called MRI's: (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is currently doing imaging scans on the brain at .5 to 1.5 TESLA (1.0 Tesla = 1 earths magnetic field and will suck a piece of metal out of your hand at close distance) at 10-400hz and is not causing ANY real sensation on the people being scanned. So, I doubt even this via emf will happen soon.
On the very real side, implanting wires in nerves and brain sections is working in limited laboratory cases.. but you have to break the skin barrier.