Why brain implants are more than a sci-fi fantasy

Science fiction has long imagined a world where our brains interact with machines to restore and augment our abilities -- think of the neural implants that connected to Geordi La Forge's visor in Star Trek or allowed Alex Murphy to be reborn as cyborg law enforcer in RoboCop. In the real world, researchers have been working for decades on so-called brain-computer interfaces to help people who suffer from paralysis, blindness, hearing loss, and more, regain function. Some individuals have used these devices to control a computer cursor with their minds; others have managed to move a robotic arm or transcribe some of their thoughts into text. The technology is still nascent and the number of people who have received implants is only in the hundreds. Just a few companies have received regulatory approval to progress beyond clinical trials to commercial use -- and even that's for limited applications.