I’ve been meaning to write about this for a day or two (which I know is about five years in blogland), but I think it’s interesting enough to still warrant a post.

This week, a man who has been paralyzed from the neck down for two years was able to control a computer, a tv and a prosthetic hand with his thoughts. He did it with the help of a small (4mm square) chip that has been planted in his brain. The chip reads his neurological signals and then uses them to control the external devices. The man, Matthew Nagle, was able read email and play Pong and perform some simple movements with a robot arm. With his thoughts.

Cyberkinetics has been working on this product, called BrainGate™ which they hope will be able to restore a level of functionality to motor-impaired individuals by sensing and transmitting neurological signals. The theory is that even if someone cannot move their arms and legs, their brain still knows how to generate the signals that control the movement.

This product is still very much experimental (it’s not even wireless yet…that’s right it needs a, permanent hole in the head for now…), but it does offer some hope that motion-impared people will someday be able to have much more control over their environments. Cyberkinetics hopes that someday the chips will allow people to once again move their arms and legs with, well, the power of their minds.