A 37-year-old man who is unable to speak or move his arms and legs has been able to control a computer cursor simply with his thoughts and the assistance of a brain/computer interface system, during an ongoing trial, according to a new report from Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems (Foxborough, Massachusetts).

This was achieved by the first participant in the company’s pilot clinical trial of its BrainGate Neural Interface System focusing on the treatment of patients with advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

“Our participant is truly a pioneer in helping us to learn not only about the Neural Interface System but about how to make it better,” Leigh Hochberg, MD, PhD, principal investigator in the trial of the ALS study, told Medical Device Daily.

The BrainGate is an investigational brain/computer interface consisting of an internal sensor to detect brain cell activity and external processors that convert brain signals into a computer-mediated output under the person’s own control. Cyberkinetics describes the sensor as a tiny silicon chip about the size of a baby aspirin with 100 electrodes, each thinner than a human hair, that can detect the electrical activity of neurons.

The sensor is implanted on the surface of the area of the brain responsible for movement, the motor cortex. A small wire connects the sensor to a cart containing computers, signal processors and monitors that allow the study operators to determine how well participants can control devices driven by thought alone.

The purpose of the study is to see if it is possible to give someone who is unable to control a computer cursor the ability to do so, Hochberg said.

The long-term goal of the BrainGate research, Hochberg told MDD, is to improve the independence, mobility and communication of someone with ALS or other motor impairments.

Hochberg, a neurologist with the U.S. Veterans Affairs Administration at Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston), called results in the first patient “encouraging” but only a very first step.

“It’s still preliminary information; this is our first participant with ALS. We have a lot more to learn.”

ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or Motor Neuron Disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord which control the movement of voluntary muscles.

Lucie Bruign, PhD, science director for the ALS Association (Calabasas Hills, California) said the recent advances with brain interface technologies offer hope that it is possible to develop a technology that will be easy to use and can restore a sense of independence and improved quality of life for people unable to move or talk.

“Where there are so many challenges to get therapies for this devastating disease [the trial results are] extremely exciting,” Bruign told MDD.

Hochberg said the researchers’ first task was to find out if they would be able to record any neural activity in a person with ALS, which they now know is possible. Next, he said, they had to find out if the person would be able to sufficiently alter his brain activity to control a computer cursor.

“In his very first attempt with no prior training he was able to move the cursor around on the screen,” Hochberg said. “He had good cursor control on the first day and we are continually developing better decoders” — that is, the software that sends the brain signals to the computer cursor.

Hochberg presented the preliminary study results Saturday at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (Washington) in Atlanta.

He noted that the participants in this study enroll “not for personal gain but because, through their generosity or pioneering spirit, they want to help us.”

At the same conference Sunday, John Donoghue, PhD, founder and chief scientific officer of Cyberkinetics and a neuroscience professor at Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island), presented results related to a brainstem stroke participant unable to move or speak. Donoghue reported the participant was able to operate a communications device, as well as remote control of a motorized wheelchair, using the BrainGate System and her own thoughts.

Researchers are also using the BrainGate to conduct a study involving participants with severe paralysis from spinal cord injury, muscular dystrophy or with “locked-in” syndrome, the inability to speak as a result of strok, and a second pilot study is enrolling individuals with ALS or other motor neuron diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Cyberkinetics develops neural stimulation, sensing and processing technology intended to assist individuals with severe paralysis from spinal cord injuries, neurological disorders and other nervous system disorders.