Removing the need for invasive brain surgery: the potential of stent electrodes

Abstract

Over the last decade, significant advances in brain–machine interfaces have demonstrated that people with paralysis can control assistive technology such as computers, wheelchairs and bionic arms with their minds. However, due to the invasive surgery required to access the brain and implant electrodes, to date, no device has received commercial US FDA approval, and consequently there is no existing solution to return independence and mobility for the hundreds-of-millions of people paralyzed by stroke, spinal cord injury and motor neuron disease. But there is hope. We have developed a minimally invasive brain–machine interface that can access the brain using cortical vessels which mitigates the risks associated with open brain surgery.