Brain-computer interface restores sense of touch with haptic signals

In 2014, Burkhart underwent brain surgery at the OSU Wexner Medical Center to implant the chip. About the size of a pea, this chip, made by Blackrock Microsystems, Inc., sits in his motor cortex, an area of the brain responsible for generating voluntary movements. "It has small wires that act like microphones; each one listens to a handful of brain cells," says Ganzer. With the chip in place, the research team was ready to work on the second phase with a more complex interface. Using MATLAB, the team developed machine learning algorithms that could decode Burkhart's thoughts as the chip recorded his brain activity.