Institute for Biology, Engineering and Medicine (I-BEAM)
Tags Neuroengineering and Neurotechnology

Neural interfaces for people living with severe disability resulting from ALS, spinal cord injury, or stroke

Research Projects

As an electrical/computer engineer and neuroscientist, a primary focus of my work, with Dr. Leigh Hochberg, is developing the BrainGate intracortical neural interface system. 

In addition to the creation of innovative neural decoding algorithms and systems, my work has been developing a state-of-the-art mobile embedded platform that can reduce the footprint of a neural signal processing system to a battery-enabled back-of-the-wheelchair computing module. Built around a Zynq FPGA-ARM hybrid processing system, this technology combines high-level synthesis for logic design, multi-core ARM programming, and low-latency processing of high-rate streams of human neural signals. This work, supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide assistive technology to Veterans and others with disability, is on a path to be evaluated with study participants enrolled in the BrainGate BCI clinical trial.

Investigators

  • head and shoulders portrait of john simeral

    John Simeral

    Assistant Professor of Engineering (Research)
  • head and shoulders portrait of Leigh Hochberg

    Leigh Hochberg

    L. Herbert Ballou University Professor of Engineering, Professor of Brain Science and Director of the VA Rehabilitation R&D Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology