Communications of the ACM
Big Improvements to Brain-Computer Interface
Researchers at the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering have developed electrodes made out of glassy carbon, which much more promising for reading signals directly from neurotransmitters, according to lead investigator Sam Kassegne.
Credit: Sam Kassegne
The new glassy-carbon electrodes developed by the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE) have the potential to restore movement in people with spinal cord injuries.
Brain-computer interface technology uses electrodes to record brain signals at the moment a person intends to make a movement, enabling the interface to learn the signal pattern for that movement and transmit the pattern to the limb's nerves. The current material used in these devices' electrodes is thin-film platinum, which fractures over time.
The new electrodes are made out of glassy carbon, which is about 10 times smoother than thin-film platinum. In addition, this form of carbon corrodes less easily under electrical stimulation, lasts longer, and produces a much clearer signal than platinum or other metal electrodes.
CSNE researchers are using the improved brain-computer interface to record neural signals both along the brain's cortical surface and from deeper inside the brain at the same time.
From SDSU NewsCenter (CA)
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