Patient with paralysis uses mind to pilot virtual quadcopter

Multiple brain-computer interface (BCI) projects are currently underway, but BrainGate is one of the first aimed at motor restoration in users affected by neurodegenerative disorders and spinal cord injuries. Researchers have spent years working through the device's clinical trial phases, but their most recent breakthrough isn't focused on physical accomplishments. Instead, the latest achievements could pave the way for people with disabilities to more easily utilize complex computer software, communicate with loved ones, work remotely, and even make music. According to a study published by BrainGate engineers on January 20 in the journal Nature Medicine, a volunteer with quadriplegia can now maintain unprecedented control over a virtual object using their surgically implanted BrainGate BCI device. To demonstrate the ability, the patient guided a virtual rotocopter through hoops in a digital obstacle course by simply thinking about moving the fingers on one of their hands.