Research Topics
Research articles published by consortium members, highlighting their academic contributions and expertise, categorised in our different research topics
Movement Restoration
Implantable BCIs can translate neural activity associated with intended movement into control signals for external devices. Our research aims to restore intuitive, high-dimensional control of robotic arms, hands, exoskeletons and other assistive technologies, with the long-term goal of enabling people with paralysis to interact with the physical world more independently.
Speech Restoration & Language
When neurological injury prevents a person from speaking, the brain's speech-related activity can provide an alternative pathway for communication. iBCI research is developing neural interfaces that decode intended speech directly from the brain, with the goal of restoring fast, natural and personalized communication for people affected by stroke, paralysis and other neurological conditions.
Vision Restoration
iBCIs may provide a new route to artificial vision by directly interacting with the visual pathways of the brain. Research in cortical visual prostheses explores how patterned neural stimulation can convey meaningful visual information, opening possibilities for restoring aspects of vision in people who have lost their sight.
Somatosensory Restoration
Movement becomes far more effective when it is accompanied by sensation. Our research investigates how touch, pressure, movement and other bodily sensations are represented in the human brain and how these signals can be recreated through intracortical microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex stimulation. The aim is to develop sensory feedback that makes iBCI feel more intuitive and enables more dexterous interaction with the environment.
Restoring cognitive functions
Beyond movement and communication, neural interfaces could interact with processes underlying attention, memory, decision-making and other cognitive functions. Targeting high-order cortical areas, cognitive BCI research seeks to understand these neural dynamics and explore how future interfaces could support, augment or restore cognitive capabilities.
Neuroscience
iBCIs are also powerful tools for studying the human brain. Recording neural activity at high spatial and temporal resolution provides unprecedented insight into how populations and individual neurons encode movement, sensation, perception and cognition. These discoveries form the scientific foundation for developing effective neural prostheses.
Neurotechnology
Turning neuroscience into clinical technology requires advances across the entire neurotechnology pipeline. We collaborate with industry and startups to develop novel neural electrodes, stimulation systems and signal processing to create safer, more reliable and more scalable implantable interfaces.
