New brain implant lets paralyzed people communicate through speech and gesture at the same time
A brain-computer interface described in Nature Neuroscience lets people with severe paralysis speak and gesture simultaneously through a personalized avatar, per Nature and the NIH.
Researchers at UC San Francisco built a brain-computer interface, described September 14, 2026 in Nature Neuroscience, that is the first to decode intended speech and upper-body gestures at the same time. The device is a 253-electrode sensor array implanted on the brain's surface. It was tested in two people with severe paralysis, one following a brainstem stroke and one with ALS, who used it to control a personalized full-body avatar in real time. Earlier brain-computer interfaces could restore speech or movement, but not both together. Researchers hope to eventually test a fully implantable, wireless version. Sources: Nature News, National Institutes of Health.