Usually wearing a silly hat and staring at the computer doesn’t do anything besides make you lonely, but now with BCI 2000, that’s going to change. You’ve probably seen some of the really great videos of researchers playing pong, typing words, and controlling robots using just their thoughts. But did you know that they all relied upon the same software program to work? Brain Computer Interface 2000 is a software tool that facilitates reading brain signals in real time. That means EEGs and ECoGs can work better and faster. Why do you care? BCI 2000 lets you control computers with your mind.

Experimental devices that read brain signals have helped paralyzed people use computers and may let amputees control bionic limbs. But existing devices use tiny electrodes that poke into the brain. Now, a University of Utah study shows that brain signals controlling arm movements can be detected accurately using new microelectrodes that sit on the brain but don’t penetrate it.

“The unique thing about this technology is that it provides lots of information out of the brain without having to put the electrodes into the brain,” says Bradley Greger, an assistant professor of bioengineering and coauthor of the study. “That lets neurosurgeons put this device under the skull but over brain areas where it would be risky to place penetrating electrodes: areas that control speech, memory and other cognitive functions.”

“A technology currently used to monitor epilepsy is being adapted into a neural interface for people who are paralyzed or have motor impairments from neurodegenerative disease. Neurolutions, a startup based in St. Louis, is developing a small, implanted device that translates signals recorded from the surface of the brain into computer commands.

The device is based on electrocorticography (ECoG), in which a grid of electrodes is surgically placed directly on the surface of the brain to monitor electrical activity. This technology is currently used for surgical planning in patients with uncontrolled epilepsy in order to find the origin of their seizures.”

“Neurolutions is a newly formed company located in St. Louis, MO. Wadsworth says that the company will develop and commercialize medical devices that “directly harness the brain’s electrical signals for communication and control systems for people with severe motor disabilities.” The potential applications include controlling prosthetic limbs and operating wheelchairs or computers.”