New Wireless Brain Sensor Revealed: Could it Allow Paralyzed to Move Again?

Scientists have made a giant leap forward when it comes to brain-machine interfaces. They've developed a novel wireless, broadband, rechargeable and fully implantable brain sensor.

The new device, the details of which are published in the Journal of Neural Engineering, can relay real-time broadband signals from up to 100 neurons in freely moving subjects. So far, it has performed well in animal models for more than a year. If implanted in humans, the device could allow researchers to better study the brain. In future applications, the device could also, theoretically, help people with severe paralysis control devices with only their thoughts.

The device consists of a pill-sized chip of electrodes which is implanted on the cortex. This chip then send signals through uniquely designed electrical connections into the device's laser-welded, hermetically sealed titanium "can" which houses a signal processing system; that includes a lithium ion battery, ultralow-power integrated circuits, wireless radio and infrared transmitters and a copper coil for recharging.

In order to test the device, the team worked closely with neurosurgeons and implanted it into three pigs and three rhesus macaque monkeys. It allowed researchers to observe the complex neural signals for as long as 16 months in these animals. In the future, it could allow scientists to record the same complex reactions in human brains, which could mean major leaps for human neuroscience.

Yet that isn't the only application for the device. Since transmissions between devices and brains are usually wired, this wireless device could be the breakthrough researchers need. It could allow them to create prosthetic limbs that can move with a mere thought, or allow scientists to observe brain activity during natural behaviors in animals, such as foraging and hunting.

That said, the wireless device is not approved for use in humans and is not used in clinical trials in brain-computer interfaces. Instead, it was designed with the intention of studying the brain. The team has future plans to use the device to study the role of the motor cortex in an animal model of Parkinson's disease.

However, the researchers are moving forward on reducing the size of the device and improving other aspects of its safety. They hope that one day, it could be considered for clinical application in people with movement disabilities.