Daan Rutten

5/5 (2)

Facebook acquired a new start-up called CTRL-Labs. The start-up was working on an armband that translates movement and the wearer’s neural impulses into digital input signals. A new category of input device that doesn’t need a keyboard or a mouse. A logical step for Facebook would be to pair the technology with their augmented reality and virtual reality glasses, however, the start-up will become a part of Facebooks reality labs division. The reality labs division of Facebook is comparable to the X lab of Google. It is a hardware group that researches far off ideas. During Facebooks F8 developer conference Regina Dugan took the stage. She told her audience that Facebook was working on a new device, a brain-computer interface device, that maybe one day lets you type with only your thoughts.

If this device would become available, several amazing possibilities would arise. Besides being able to type with your thoughts, or using the technology in virtual reality or augmented reality, there are also different possibilities with the technology. The first possibility would be for patients who lost their ability to speak as a result of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. These patients take a lot of time to use their computers and write just one sentence. With the brain-computer interface of Facebook, these patients can write faster and be able to communicate a lot more. If the technology would be paired with a virtual speaking assistant, the patients would even be able to speak again. Another possibility would be to record and save your dreams. The device could be placed on your head while sleeping and could record all the thoughts you have during your sleep.

However, the downside of this whole project is the loss of privacy. Do we really need this technology that much that we are enabling Facebook to our private thoughts and inside our brain? Today we can keep some things still a secret to the big corporations, but with the brain-computer interface this will all be gone. Facebook, or another tech company, will be able to track everything you think about.

The technology is still far from being sold commercially, however, the acquisition of CTRL-labs will give Facebook a lot more information about technologies using neural impulses. Facebook invading our brains might come faster than we thought.

Are you willing to hand in your private thoughts for brain-computer technology?

5/5 (1)

As of the summer in 2020 a new organ donation law will come into force in the Netherlands. Currently, you can only donate your organs post mortem with explicit consent of the donor or relatives. This system will be replaced by an active donor registration system. Everyone will be an organ donor, except when you register as a non-donor or when you exclude certain organs.

The Dutch ‘Transplantatie stichting’ (transplantation foundation) is glad with the progress. However, still are a few hundred patients dying because they could not get a donor transplant. Also, the waiting list still had more than 1800 patients in 2018. This number keeps growing every year. The expectation is that the new law will help more patients to get their desperately wanted organs, but it still will not be enough. New innovations will have to come up to make sure that everyone can get organs in time before it is too late.

3D printing is changing; it is not only used at home or at schools. It is now possible to even print food, and this is even still the beginning. In the summer of 2019, scientist found a new way to print vascular tissue from living cells with a 3D printer. Eventually, scientists will be able to print whole living organs with this technology! The new successes brought in a new funding of $8.7 million dollars, speeding up the commercialization of organ printing.

A huge pro of 3D printing organs is that the technology can use living cells from the patient to grow the organs. Making it less likely that the organ will be repelled by the body, something that happens a lot with today’s transplantations.

Although the goal is to make 3D printed organs cost the same as a human organ donation, 3D printed organs will stay very expensive over the next few years. Also, more investments have to be made for more research to make 3D printed organs possible.

– Do you think there are still human donors needed in a few years?
– Would you still be willing to be an organ donor if the technology to 3D print organs would be available?
– Would you want a 3D printed organ or a real human organ?
References
Alexander, D. (2019, 7 13). The Emerging Industry of 3D Printed Organs Will Become a Billion Dollar Industry in 10 Years. Opgeroepen op 10 2, 2019, van Interesting Engineering: https://interestingengineering.com/the-emerging-industry-of-3d-printed-organs-will-become-a-billion-dollar-industry-in-10-years
Bergwerff, M. (2019, 1 31). Aantal orgaandonaties stijgt: ‘Maar het zijn er nog lang niet genoeg’. Opgeroepen op 10 2, 2019, van NU.nl: https://www.nu.nl/gezondheid/5709771/aantal-orgaandonaties-stijgt-maar-het-zijn-er-nog-lang-niet-genoeg.html
Haase-Kromwijk, B., Reiger, J., Schaefer, B., & Kleijwegt, R. (2019). Jaarverslag 2018. Nederlandse Transplantatie Stichting.
Shieber, J. (2019, 8 11). 3D-printing organs moves a few more steps closer to commercialization. Opgeroepen op 10 2, 2019, van Techcrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/11/3d-printing-organs-moves-a-few-more-steps-closer-to-commercialization/

Is Facebook going to invade our thoughts?

10

Please rate this

Donating organs, still needed in the future?

2

Please rate this