Fiber-Optic Pen Allows View into Children’s Brains

Scientists at the University of Washington, Seattle, say that for less than $100, they have designed a computer-interfaced drawing pad that can help scientists see inside the brains of children with learning disabilities as they read and write. To create the system, the researchers hollowed out a ballpoint pen and inserted two optical fibers connected to a light-tight box in an adjacent control room where the pen’s movement is recorded. They also created a simple wooden square pad to hold a piece of paper printed with continuously varying color gradients. The custom pen and pad allow researchers to record handwriting during functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, to assess behavior and brain function at the same time.