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Brain–machine interfaces (BMIs) may eventually allow patients with severe disabilities to exert direct neural control of assistive devices in a manner analogous to our natural effortless control of movement. Growing efforts are aimed at clinically translating BMIs (JW Neurol Sep 5 2006 and Sep 15 2009). However, the degree of movement complexity that a patient can stably control using a BMI has been uncertain.
In this short-term study, researchers assessed whether a patient with tetraplegia could control a robotic arm to perform tasks. The researchers surgically implanted two 96-electrode arrays into motor areas in one hemisphere to record action potentials. Using an innovative algorithm developed using a nonhuman primate model, the authors …