New Brain Implant Lets You Control Machines Using Your Thoughts

Soon, you may be able to give commands to machines just by "thinking" them. A team of researchers and engineers at Melbourne University are developing a stentrode, a tiny implant to be placed into a blood vessel next to the brain, which can record electric activity from a specific part of the brain. The information will then be decoded and interpreted into thoughts. Dr. Tom Oxley, research lead, said the study is purely focused on harnessing the possibilities of bionics to improve the medical industry, particularly in the treatment of paralysis and epilepsy. Using the stentrode implant, people who are suffering from paralysis or severe spinal cord injuries can use their thoughts to control the movement systems attached to their bodies, allowing them to interact with their surroundings again.