Non-profit Swiss organisation Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering has developed a second generation brain-computer interface that can “read minds” of people with paralysis in order to control a robotic arm.

The brain computer interface is called an implantable neuro communicator or Neurocomm that can control either a robotic prosthesis or a paralysed arm and help people suffering from severe paralysis or neurological disorders regain movement. The device has the potential to give patients with these disabilities an opportunity to communicate, interact, and function and regain full independence, the organisation said. The organisation works towards finding clinical solutions for patients with neurological problems.

The system works though an electrode array that is implanted on the brain surface and detects the intention to move by readig electrical activity of neurons. This array then relays a pattern of neural signals to a computer via a wire cable connection that goes through the skin. The computer translates the signal into digital commands that can then operate a robotic arm. Scientists at the Wyss Center conducted successful tests with a tiny microelectrode array placed on the surface of the cerebral cortex or the outer grey matter of the brain of patients with severe paralysis is able to provide sophisticated command signals. The team is now creating the device for initial human clinical use.