Fully implanted closed-loop BCI enables both therapeutic cortical stimulation and thought-based computer control in the same stroke patient

Summary

CorTec published first-in-world results from the University of Washington Brain Interchange trial demonstrating that a single fully implanted, wireless BCI system delivered both therapeutic cortical stimulation for stroke motor rehabilitation AND thought-based computer control in the same patient using identical hardware — including a functional Pong gameplay demonstration. The cortical stimulation sessions induced neuroplasticity changes measured by motor evoked potential amplitude improvements in the stroke-affected limb. The same recording session also captured motor intention signals sufficient for real-time computer cursor control and Pong gameplay, using standard BCI decoding. The dual-function capability was demonstrated after 9 months of continuous stable implant operation.