A new clinical trial of the BrainGate technology, which allows people to control a computer using thought alone, achieved a remarkable milestone. The participants demonstrated the first wireless commands to a computer. This could be life-changing for those with paralysis.
The Brown University researchers conducting the study say the system involves a small transmitter that links to a person’s brain motor cortex. The advanced technology can transmit brain signals in full broadband fidelity at single-neuron resolution.
Two people (aged 35 and 63) paralyzed from spinal cord injuries participated in the trial. They used BrainGate technology to control a tablet. They achieved similar point-and-click accuracy and typing speeds as they could with wired systems.
Assistant professor John Simeral of Brown University said:
We’ve demonstrated that this wireless system is functionally equivalent to the wired systems that have been the gold standard. The signals are recorded and transmitted with appropriately similar fidelity, which means we can use the same decoding algorithms we used with wired equipment. The only difference is that people no longer need to be physically tethered to our equipment, which opens up new possibilities in terms of how someone can use the system.
Trained caregivers were able to establish the wireless connections because of the system’s relative ease of use. So, the participants could use the wireless system continuously for an entire day from home instead of in a laboratory.
Professor Leigh Hochberg of Brown University, who led the BrainGate clinical trial, says:
With this system, we’re able to look at brain activity, at home, over long periods in a way that was nearly impossible before. This will help us to design decoding algorithms that provide for the seamless, intuitive, reliable restoration of communication and mobility for people with paralysis.
This breakthrough marks the latest advance in the swiftly growing field of neural interface technologies, which has even attracted the attention of Facebook and Elon Musk. Mr. Musk’s startup Neuralink has already tested a wireless chip on a monkey. The implant enabled the animal to play video games!
