16.06.2005 – 22:22

Hospital Sirio-Libanes

Syrian-Lebanese Hospital Concludes Largest Private Scientific-Social Agreement in Brazil

Sao Paulo, Brazil (ots/PRNewswire)

- Miguel Nicolelis -- World-renowned Brazilian Neuroscientist --
to  Perform the First Operation on a Human That Will Allow the Brain
to Control  Robotic Arms

The Teaching and Research Institute of the Syrian-Lebanese
Hospital in  Sao Paulo (Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa do Hospital
Sirio-Libanes)  announced today a unique scientific agreement in
Brazil. Brazilian  neuroscientist Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, Professor of
Neurobiology and Biomedical  Engineering and Co-Director of the
Neuroengineering Center of Duke  University, signed an agreement on
behalf of the Alberto Santos Dumont  Association to Support Research
(Associacao Alberto Santos Dumont de Apoio  a Pesquisa - AASDAP) with
the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital to provide for the  first operation on a
human that will allow the patient's brain to control  robotic arms.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050616/SPTH001 )

With the help of specialists from the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital on
the surgical team, within about three years, the first operation in
the world to implant a neuro-prosthesis (brain-machine interface) to
restore mobility to the arms of a patient with severe body paralysis
should take place. The patient will use impulses from the brain to
control the movement of mechanical prostheses.

As a result of this partnership, the Teaching and Research
Institute of the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital will be part of an
international network of neuroscience institutes created by Dr.
Nicolelis with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. The network
will include the Neuroengineering Center of Duke University, the
Neurocomputation Center of the University of Jerusalem, the
International Neurosciences Institute of Natal, Brazil, and the
Syrian-Lebanese Hospital -- the only clinical partner in the network.

With this agreement, the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital will be the
first nongovernmental Brazilian organization to contribute to the
International Neurosciences Institute, to be built in the state of
Rio Grande do Norte. The Institute will have some 15 research labs
for neuroscience research, a school and a mental health center for
infants and youths, science museum, nature park, and sports complex.
The Syrian-Lebanese Hospital will donate one million dollars to the
social projects of the Institute over the next three years.

"This is a major milestone for Brazilian science. This is the
first scientific-social partnership on this scale in our history,
which shows that cutting-edge science can be an agent for social
transformation in Brazil," said Nicolelis. According to the CEO of
the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital, Mauricio Ceschin, "The agreement
reinforces the character of the Institution as a center of excellence
focused on health, teaching and research."

About the Hospital Sirio-Libanes

The Hospital Sirio-Libanes (Syrian-Lebanese Hospital) is one of
the most important hospitals in Brazil and Latin America, the product
of philanthropy consolidated with cutting-edge technology, qualified
professionals, patient respect, and continuous expansion.

The 54,000-square-meter facility employs 2,500 people, including
the most qualified physicians in 60 areas of specialization, 277
beds, two surgical wards, two intensive care units, and capacity for
fifty operations per day.

Professor Miguel Nicolelis

The Brazilian neuroscientist Dr. Miguel Nicolelis is responsible
for one of the greatest discoveries in neurology in recent years, the
experiment that opened the way for the creation of robotic arms
controlled by the "force of mind."

Nicolelis and his team at Duke University developed a system that
allows monkeys to control the arm of a robot by means of brain
signals: brain impulses are converted into mathematical commands that
can be interpreted by a computer, allowing the animals to control
movements. Electrodes were implanted in the regions of the animals'
brains associated with movement. Now Nicolelis is announcing the
procedure for a human being.

For more information, contact:
    MVL Comunicacao
    Neuza Serra
    Robinson Machado
     robinson.machado@mvl.com.br
    +55-3049-0354

Contact:

Neuza Serra, or Robinson Machado, robinson.machado@mvl.com.br, both
of MVL Comunicacao, +55-3049-0354, for Hospital Sirio-Libanes, Photo:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050616/SPTH001, PRN
Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com