Dawn Taylor

Chronic Intracortical Recording of Neural Firing Patterns for Control of Neuroprosthetic Devices

We are implanting microelectrodes in the areas of cortex responsible for generating upper limb movement. We record the firing patterns of many individual neurons and decode these patterns into an intended reach and grasp movement in real time. These intended movement signals are then used to control the movements of various devices intended to aid severely paralyzed individuals. These movement commands can be used to control such devices as a wheelchair-mounted robotic arm or implanted stimulators designed to activate paralyzed muscles.

Potential Impact

This work has the potential to enable paralyzed individuals to control devices such as their computer mouse, a robot, or even their own arm and hand just be thinking about moving them.