With this study, UC Davis joins BrainGate, an ambitious consortium of universities and academic medical centers studying how brain-computer interfaces can be used to restore neurological function in people living with paralysis. The technology is also sometimes referred to as brain-machine interface or neuroprosthesis.
The focus of BrainGate is to use this technology to “turn thoughts into action” for people living with paralysis. Some of the consortium’s studies have turned “neural” handwriting into text output to a computer and helped participants with paralysis control a robotic arm and hand.
The researchers at UC Davis are focused on a condition known as anarthria, where people want to speak but are unable to control their vocal cords or mouth in a way that would produce audible speech.
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