brain-computer interface

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a direct communication pathway between an enhanced or wired brain and an external device such as a computer or robotic limb, bypassing the normal motor and sensory output channels of the nervous system; BCIs record neural activity — typically electrical signals — from the brain using implanted electrodes, electrode arrays placed on the scalp, or electrocorticographic grids placed on the brain's surface, and translate those signals into commands that control external hardware; applications include restoring communication for people with ALS or locked-in syndrome by allowing them to type or speak through detected neural intent, restoring motor function after spinal cord injury through neural bypass prosthetics, and controlling prosthetic limbs with thought; the field encompasses both invasive BCIs requiring neurosurgical implantation and non-invasive EEG-based systems; commercial development by companies including Neuralink, Synchron, and Blackrock Neurotech has brought BCI technology into mainstream public awareness alongside longstanding academic research programmes

Examples

• The paralysed patient communicated through a brain-computer interface at sixty words per minute.
• Researchers used a brain-computer interface to decode imagined speech directly from neural activity.