For years now, brain-computer interfaces (BCI) have incrementally advanced, giving people with spinal injuries or lost limbs the ability to control prosthetics and computer cursors using their signals. But even though the tech has made strides, the replicating subtle, delicate, nuanced sensations of touch has remained just out of reach. Now, however, a team of researchers from the Cortical Bionics Research Group believe they have made a major breakthrough. A pair of patients wearing a BCI was able to control a bionic arm and “feel” tactile edges, shapes, and curvatures along its fingers.

Across a series of experiments, the researchers were able to translate and relay sensations tied to motion, curvature, and orientation that allowed the volunteers to perform complicated tasks with their bionic limb. The researchers say their device has now accomplished a new level of artificial touch.

Myoelectric control has emerged as a promising approach for a wide range of applications, including controlling limb prosthetics, teleoperating robots and enabling immersive interactions in the Metaverse. However, the accuracy and robustness of myoelectric control systems are often affected by various factors, including muscle fatigue, perspiration, drifts in electrode positions and changes in arm position. The latter has received less attention despite its significant impact on signal quality and decoding accuracy. To address this gap, we present a novel dataset of surface electromyographic (EMG) signals captured from multiple arm positions.

You can probably complete an amazing number of tasks with your hands without looking at them. But if you put on gloves that muffle your sense of touch, many of those simple tasks become frustrating. Take away proprioception - your ability to sense your body's relative position and movement - and you might even end up breaking an object or injuring yourself.

The field of bioelectronic medicine has advanced rapidly from rudimentary electrical therapies to cutting-edge closed-loop systems that integrate real-time physiological monitoring with adaptive neuromodulation. Early innovations, such as cardiac pacemakers and deep brain stimulation, paved the way for these sophisticated technologies.

Neuralink se trouve à un moment critique. Alors que les ambitions de Musk projettent des millions d’implants dans la prochaine décennie, les défis techniques, éthiques et réglementaires ralentissent cette progression. Si les avancées se poursuivent, 2025 pourrait marquer une étape décisive, non seulement pour Neuralink, mais pour l’ensemble du secteur des interfaces cerveau-ordinateur.

Imagine controlling a virtual quadcopter with just your thoughts and finger movements. For patient T5, this is no longer a dream. Researchers have developed a high-performance brain-computer interface (BCI) that enables individuals with paralysis, like patient T5, to control virtual environments with unprecedented ability. The participant, a 69-year-old man, saw controlling the quadcopter as a metaphor for “rising up” from his physical limitations.

Unlike Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which directly places chips in the brain, NEO uses a semi-invasive approach. Electrodes are positioned outside the brain cortex, avoiding direct contact with brain tissue. “The results are even better than we expected,” said Mao Ying, head of the National Centre for Neurological Disorders and director at Huashan Hospital, who was part of the implantation team. Using a prosthetic glove, the patient could control brain signals to perform daily tasks like picking up a water cup, unscrewing a bottle cap, and drinking.

The newly announced trial, called the CONVOY Study, is part of Neuralink's ongoing research into brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), with the hope of empowering individuals to control a robotic arm with their thoughts alone. This study is an extension of Neuralink's previous work under the PRIME study, which focuses on placing a small, wireless brain implant that allows people to interact with external devices like computers and smartphones.

In conclusion, our 3D brain slice injury model was successful as a tool for testing a biomaterial implantation therapy, highlighting the use of complex organotypic models for biomaterial testing, to close the gap between simple in vitro 2D models and complex in vivo models. The slices require technically simple procedures and limited training, and are highly cost-effective and humane versus live animal models. Accordingly, they offer the capacity to become a standardised screening model to evaluate neuromaterials, prior to therapeutic testing in live animal models. Detecting the failure of therapeutics in organotypic models could limit therapeutic failure in live animals, highlighting the importance of biomaterial screening in reliable, pathomimetic and neuromimetic in vitro models, and ensuring that only the most promising interventions progress into live animal testing.

On-scalp digital printing of custom-designed, temporary-tattoo-like sensors represents a groundbreaking advancement in noninvasive brain-monitoring technologies, advancing the fields of neuroscience, clinical diagnostics, and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Traditional electroencephalography (EEG) systems involve time-consuming manual electrode placement, conductive liquid gels, and cumbersome cables, which are prone to signal degradation and discomfort during prolonged use. Our approach overcomes these limitations by combining material innovations with non-contact, on-body digital printing techniques to fabricate e-tattoos that are self-drying, ultrathin, and compatible with hairy scalps.

Federal regulator reportedly cites animal lab at Elon Musk’s Neuralink for “objectionable conditions or practices”

The functional capacities of a biosensor depend on the number of surrounding neurons in a given radius (50–350 μm) (He et al., 2020). Probe insertions generate inflammatory responses to acute tissue injuries and the introduction of foreign bodies, known as “foreign body response” (FBR). Chronic neuroprosthetic implants in rats at 16 weeks in contrast to 8 weeks have been shown to increase neuronal and dendritic loss, correlate with tau hyperphosphorylation seen in Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies, and impede regeneration and recording of activity surrounding the device (McConnell et al., 2009). Assessments of acute proinflammatory events and chronic progression have largely centered on histological analyses of non-neuronal central nervous system (CNS) cells such as microglia, astrocytes and oligodendroglia, including their contribution to neuroinflammation and glial scars (Kozai et al., 2015; Prodanov and Delbeke, 2016).

Ischemic stroke and cerebral venous thrombosis are both leading causes of disability. Both involve plasmatic coagulation, platelets, and immune cells, but pathomechanisms differ. Stroke is a thrombo-inflammatory disease with immune cell recruitment and barrier breakdown. Cerebral venous thrombosis is caused by thrombotic occlusion of cerebral veins and is a prime example of immunothrombosis.

A fine fiber catheter was implanted in rat brain together with a flexible polyimide microelectrode in sight both of which acts as a foreign body and induces the brain tissue immune reaction. OCT signals were collected from animals up to 12 weeks after implantation and thus gliotic scarring in vivo monitored for that time. Preliminary data showed a significant enhancement of the OCT backscattering signal during the first 3 weeks after implantation, and increased attenuation factor of the sampled tissue due to the glial scar formation.

Key design considerations for biocompatibility, efficacy and longevity of microelectrodes to maintain long-term neuronal recording and stimulation are highly dependent on brain tissue response (Polikov et al., 2005). The functional capacities of a biosensor depend on the number of surrounding neurons in a given radius (50–350 μm) (He et al., 2020). Probe insertions generate inflammatory responses to acute tissue injuries and the introduction of foreign bodies, known as “foreign body response” (FBR). Chronic neuroprosthetic implants in rats at 16 weeks in contrast to 8 weeks have been shown to increase neuronal and dendritic loss, correlate with tau hyperphosphorylation seen in Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies, and impede regeneration and recording of activity surrounding the device

Contrary to the initial hypothesis, dual targeting worsened the neuroinflammatory response to intracortical probes. Therefore, probe material and CD14 deficiency were independently assessed for their effect on inflammation and neuronal density by implanting each microelectrode type in both wild-type control and Cd14-/- mice.

Fractalkine (CX3CL1) has unique properties as an adhesion molecule and chemoattractant, and by acting on its only receptor, CX3CR1, it regulates the activity of microglia in physiological states and neuroinflammation. Depending on the clinical context, CX3CL1-CX3CR1 signaling may have neuroprotective effects by inhibiting the inflammatory process in microglia or, conversely, maintaining/intensifying inflammation and neurotoxicity.

Dubbed the Prima, the implant consists of a 2-mm square chip that is surgically placed under the retina, the backmost part of the eye, in an 80-minute procedure. A pair of glasses with a camera captures visual information and beams patterns of infrared light on the chip, which has 378 light-powered pixels. Acting like a tiny solar panel, the chip converts light to a pattern of electrical stimulation and sends those electrical pulses to the brain. The brain then interprets those signals as images, mimicking the process of natural vision.

Nowadays, the mHealth market is flooded with smartphone applications (apps) lacking validation for blood pressure (BP)-lowering effects and BP measurement accuracy. This systematic review for Guidelines for BP control using digital technologies of the Japanese Society of Hypertension aimed to assess the validation studies of apps.