ASET Technology Alberta Fall 2022 - 16

" Eventually, the technology is going to get to a point where
we're able to replace limbs directly if a limb is lost, " Cimolini
says. This capability would inevitably (and has already started
to) raise complicated ethical questions around augmented
performance and modification.
" Can we start replacing limbs
with limbs that are better
designed or suited for specific
tasks? Or just replacement for
athletes, to see higher levels of
ability in humans? " Cimolini asks.
This is one drop in an ocean of
questions on augmentation ethics.
Another field of research being done at the Glenrose and the
larger rehabilitation world is brain-computer interface. This
application has exciting potential for helping physically disabled
patients interact again with their environment, through
brainpower alone. At the Glenrose's brain-computer interface
lab, the researchers are using off-the-shelf, head-mounted
units to read brain activity, and trying to translate that activity
into direct control of power mobility devices.
" Then of course our prosthetics groups is interested in seeing
if we can start to use those to control the myoelectric
prostheses, the robotic prostheses and things like that, "
Cimolini says.
Cimolini and his team hope those groups will continue to take
off as brain-computer interface systems hit their stride. Some
Glenrose patients have very few physical functions available,
but still have full or most cognitive function intact.
" Where our leaning is, is to be able
to use brain-computer interface
to give these people access to
the power and ability to type with
their brains, to be able to send
text messages and things like that
using a brain-computer interface, "
Cimolini explains. That direct access
can massively affect rehabilitation
and accessibility, as it could allow
a functioning mind full access to
actions previously locked away.
In addition to the solutions developed specifically for rehabilitation,
there have been cases popping up of technologies
that started for commercial purposes finding their way into
restorative settings. Both virtual and augmented reality are
coming in handy as more interactive ways for retraining the
mind and body after injury or illness, something the Glenrose
has been exploring.
" We've been using the Microsoft HoloLens now for the last
four to five years, to start to build rehabilitation activities
that we can basically overlay on top of the real world, " Cimolini
says.
" Instead of having a patient follow a flashing light on a light
board or look for targets on post-it notes or things like that
on a wall, we're able to use a head-mounted display that the
patient then wears, and then it's augmenting their real-world
environment with the virtual environment. "
The Glenrose partnered with the UofA research group ELIXR
to create one of these games for the facility's patients to
play. Their custom game was modelled after Microsoft's
" RoboRaid " but adjusted to be more accessible to patients.
That accessibility was reached by changing parameters
such as how quickly objects approached the player, the
number of activities happening on screen, and different
guiding and queuing abilities.
" Now we're able to work with our stroke population on doing
their visual scanning, their range of motion, and getting
them moving around in those spaces with something that's a
little bit more like a video game. But still with that therapeutic
bent, " Cimolini explains.
16 | FALL 2022 | TECHNOLOGY ALBERTA

https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2016/07/26/human-enhancement-the-scientific-and-ethical-dimensions-of-striving-for-perfection/ https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2016/07/26/human-enhancement-the-scientific-and-ethical-dimensions-of-striving-for-perfection/

ASET Technology Alberta Fall 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASET Technology Alberta Fall 2022