The Stentrode brain-computer interface (BCI) has successfully been demonstrated by researchers to help patients with severe paralyses compete tasks such as texting, emailing, shopping and online banking, in a new study. The BCI does this without the need for open brain surgery.
The study, published in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery, was the first inhuman study of the device. The implantation is similar to that of a pacemaker, entering through blood vessels.
Patient used the Stentrode neuroprosthesis to control a Microsoft Windows 10 operating system with eye-tracker movements to cursor navigation. Subjects used machine learning-assisted training to control multiple mouse-click actions such as zoom and left click.
Thomas Oxley, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, USA, and CEO of Synchron, a neurovascular bioelectronics medicine company which is responsible for this research, commented, “This is a breakthrough moment for the field of brain-computer interfaces. We are excited to report that we have delivered a fully implantable, take home, wireless technology that does not require open brain surgery, which functions to restore freedoms for people with severe disability.”
