SAN DIEGO — Scientists have developed better devices to help people with disabilities regain function. These findings will be presented at Neuroscience 2025, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are systems that decode brain activity and communicate it to an external device, such as a prosthetic on the body or cursor on a computer. As an emerging technology, it can help patients with paralysis or other disabilities move, communicate, and regain a measure of autonomy. The devices can range from sensors placed on the skin to surgical implants deeper in the body. But the technology hasn't always been viable for long-term use or customizable for the user.
Today’s new findings show that:
- A paralyzed man with amytotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) used a speech BCI independently at home for more than two years to control his home computer, work full-time, and communicate more than 237,000 sentences with up to 99% word output accuracy in controlled tests. (David Brandman, University of California, Davis)
- Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) via microelectrode interfaces in the somatosensory cortex — designed to give patients touch sensation — remained safe and effective in human subjects over years, suggesting the technique could help patients control prosthetics with more dexterity. (Robert Gaunt, University of Pittsburgh)
- Scientists have developed a technique called magnetomicrometry, wherein small magnets are implanted in muscle tissue and tracked by magnetic field sensors to measure the real-time mechanics of a muscle. Results suggest more intuitive prosthetic control than traditional neural approaches. (Christopher Shallal, MIT)
“BCIs are moving beyond proof-of-concept to become reliable medical technologies for daily life,” said Grégoire Courtine, PhD, professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and moderator of the press conference. “The studies presented this year show that BCIs can be safe and effective over many years, while also becoming more intuitive and personalized. This progress brings us closer to a future where neurotechnologies restore communication, movement, and even touch with clinical reliability.”
For complete access to Neuroscience 2025 in-person and online, request media credentials. This research was supported by national funding agencies including the National Institutes of Health and private funding organizations.
Sunday, November 16, 2025
1:30–2:30 p.m. PST
San Diego Convention Center, Room 15A, and online for registered media
BCI Press Conference Summary
- These studies focused on improved brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) in human subjects.
- Whether improving the longevity of a device to make it a feasible long-term solution for patients, providing better human safety data on an existing intervention, or developing more responsive implants for BCI efficacy, new research advances neuroprosthetic technologies for enhanced patient outcomes.
Stable high-accuracy speech and cursor decoding with a chronic intracortical brain-computer interface over two years
David Brandman, dmbrandman@health.ucdavis.edu, Abstract NANO022.02
- Maintaining BCI performance over long periods is critical for clinical viability, but chronic use presents challenges. Brain electrodes can degrade over time and systems often need to be calibrated frequently.
- A paralyzed man with ALS enrolled in the BrainGate2 clinical trial and had four microelectrode arrays placed in his left ventral precentral gyrus, recording from 256 electrodes.
- The patient used a BCI independently at home for more than two years without needing to recalibrate it each day. The multimodal BCI decoded both his attempted speech into text and his attempted hand movements into computer cursor movements and clicks. In structured tests, the BCI was consistently 99 percent accurate at outputting his intended words. The user controlled his personal computer, worked full-time, and communicated with loved ones. Over 4,800 hours of use, he communicated more than 237,000 sentences at around 56 words per minute.
- The results suggest that implanted BCIs can potentially deliver dependable communication and digital access over long-term periods.
Ten-year safety profile of intracortical microstimulation in the human somatosensory cortex
Robert Gaunt, rag53@pitt.edu, Abstract NANO022.10
- Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of the somatosensory cortex can create artificial touch sensations in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The restored sense of touch can improve control of BCI-controlled prosthetics. But long-term human safety data are limited.
- Five participants were implanted with microelectrode arrays in the somatosensory cortex, receiving millions of electrical stimulation pulses over a combined 24 years.
- ICMS evoked high-quality, stable tactile sensation in the hand without serious adverse effects. More than half of the electrodes continued to function reliably — even after 10 years, in the case of one participant. This study is the most extensive evaluation of ICMS in humans and establishes that ICMS is safe over long periods.
Implanted magnets enable wireless muscle state sensing for neuroprosthetic control applications
Christopher Shallal, cshallal@mit.edu, Abstract PSTR457.13
- Conventional neuroprosthetics rely on electrical signals from the body, including muscles and nerves. But measuring muscle signals on the surface is often noisy and inaccurate, while surgically-implanted sensors are invasive and sometimes impractical.
- Scientists developed magnetomicrometry, in which small magnets were implanted in muscle tissue and tracked by external magnetic field sensors. The magnets allow muscle movements to be measured in real time. The researchers tested three patients for up to one year and compared prosthesis control between surface and implanted electrode techniques. Magnetomicrometry outperformed them both in terms of accuracy.
- This new method demonstrates potential for future neural interfaces to measure muscle dynamics directly, and offer a more responsive, less invasive, and intuitive connection for the user.
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The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is an organization of nearly 30,000 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and the nervous system.