A long-term goal of the BrainGate research team is to create a system that, quite literally, turns thought into action – and is useful to people with neurologic disease or injury, or limb loss. Currently, the system consists of a “sensor” (a device implanted in the brain that records signals directly related to imagined limb movement); a “decoder” (a set of computers and embedded software that turns the brain signals into a useful command for an external device); and, the external device – which could be a standard computer desktop or other communication device, a powered wheelchair, a prosthetic or robotic limb, or, in the future, a functional electrical stimulation device that can move paralyzed limbs directly.
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