Researchers with the Mayo Clinic are working on technology that would allow people to type with their minds.

But don’t think that you can just toss a typing hat on and write that great American novel while you sleep — it takes some considerable surgery. The researchers used electrodes already implanted into patients with epilepsy to connect to their “brain-computer interface.”

A neurologist leading the study said the technology could be a huge help to millions of people.

“Over 2 million people in the United States may benefit from assistive devices controlled by a brain-computer interface,” says the study’s lead investigator, neurologist Jerry Shih, M.D. “This study constitutes a baby step on the road toward that future, but it represents tangible progress in using brain waves to do certain tasks.”

Dr. Shih and other Mayo Clinic researchers worked with Dean Krusienski, Ph.D., from the University of North Florida on this study, which was conducted in two patients with epilepsy.

It’s an interesting step forward, but c’mon scientists I need a typing while driving hat — if I get caught blogging in traffic again, I’m losing my license.

[Via Mayo Clinic]

Related posts:

1. I Knew It! Gamers Have Bigger Brains!
2. Magnets Can Scramble Morality Functions
3. Is Kindess Contagoius?