Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland have joined the BrainGate2 clinical trial, in which researchers at Brown, the Providence VA Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Stanford University have been assessing the safety and feasibility of the BrainGate* implanted brain-computer interface system in people with paralysis. Robert Kirsch, chair of the CWRU biomedical engineering department and executive director of the Functional Electrical Stimulation Center of Excellence at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, has been working with researchers at Brown and MGH for nearly seven years on studies of stimulating muscles with neural signals. “By launching a BrainGate trial site with our long-time colleagues at Case Western, we have the opportunity to work toward the long-term dream for this research — to reconnect a disconnected nervous system, and to one day allow someone with cervical spinal cord injury to regain intuitive control over her limb,” said Dr. Leigh Hochberg, associate professor of engineering at Brown, who is also a researcher and physician at PVAMC, MGH, and Harvard. “I’m thrilled that we have the opportunity to bring together such extraordinary researchers, all focused on restoring mobility, communication, and independence for people with paralysis.”
*CAUTION: Investigational Device. Limited by Federal Law to Investigational Use.