NEWS on nervous system implants
Decoding the business of brain–computer interfaces
Fifty years after the term brain–computer interface was coined, the neurotechnology is being pursued by an array of start-up companies using a variety of different technologies. But the path to clinical and commercial success remains uncertain. Of the companies developing BCIs (brain-computer interface) with implanted recording systems, two are exclusively...
Injectable Conductive Hydrogels with Tunable Degradability as Novel Implantable Bioelectrodes
Bioelectrodes have been developed to efficiently mediate electrical signals of biological systems as stimulators and recording devices. Recently, conductive hydrogels have garnered great attention as emerging materials for bioelectrode applications because they can permit intimate/conformal contact with living tissues and tissue-like softness. However, administration and control over the in vivo...
Epidural stimulation of the cervical spinal cord for post-stroke upper-limb paresis
Cerebral strokes can disrupt descending commands from motor cortical areas to the spinal cord, which can result in permanent motor deficits of the arm and hand. However, below the lesion, the spinal circuits that control movement remain intact and could be targeted by neurotechnologies to restore movement. Here we report...
Are hackers attacking medical implants?
Medical devices such as insulin pumps, defibrillators and brain stimulators are getting more and more connectivity. As more and more patients receive implants to treat conditions ranging from diabetes and Parkinson's disease to deafness and heart failure, implants are becoming more complex - and thus more wirelessly controllable. This means...
Brain interfaces could let paralyzed people speak at almost normal speeds
An ALS patient set a record for communicating via a brain implant: 62 words per minute. Eight years ago, a patient lost her power of speech because of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, which causes progressive paralysis. She can still make sounds, but her words have become unintelligible, leaving her...
A high-performance speech neuroprosthesis
Speech brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have the potential to restore rapid communication to people with paralysis by decoding neural activity evoked by attempted speaking movements into text or sound.Early demonstrations, while promising, have not yet achieved accuracies high enough for communication of unconstrainted sentences from a large vocabulary. Here, we demonstrate...
Feasibility Study of the BrainGate Neural Interface System
Interim Safety Profile From the Feasibility Study of the BrainGate Neural Interface System Brain computer interfaces (BCIs) are being developed to restore mobility, communication, and functional independence to people with paralysis. Though supported by decades of preclinical data, the safety of chronically implanted microelectrode array BCIs in humans is unknown....
Brain stimulation boosts hearing in rats with ear implants
Study identifies neurons that can improve sound perception, which could explain the variation in performance in people with cochlear devices. Stimulating neurons that are linked to alertness helps rats with cochlear implants learn to quickly recognize tunes, researchers have found. The results suggest that activity in a brain region called...
Optimal deep brain stimulation sites and networks for stimulation of the fornix in Alzheimer’s disease
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) to the fornix is an investigational treatment for patients with mild Alzheimer’s Disease. Outcomes from randomized clinical trials have shown that cognitive function improved in some patients but deteriorated in others. This could be explained by variance in electrode placement leading to differential engagement of neural...
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