Brain-Computer Interfaces for People With Spinal Cord Injury a Little Closer to Reality

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are planning two clinical trials in which patients with spinal cord injuries will use brain-computer interfaces (BCI) to control external devices, such as a computer cursor or a prosthetic limb, with their thoughts. The projects build upon ongoing research conducted in epilepsy patients who had the interfaces temporarily placed on their brains and were able to move cursors and play computer games, as well as in monkeys that through interfaces guided a robotic arm to feed themselves marshmallows and turn a doorknob. Experts project that brain-controlled prosthetic limbs could be available within . . .