Scientists reveal a tiny brain chip that streams thoughts in real time

A new brain implant could significantly reshape how people interact with computers while offering new treatment possibilities for conditions such as epilepsy, spinal cord injury, ALS, stroke, and blindness. By creating a minimally invasive, high-throughput communication path to the brain, it has the potential to support seizure control and help restore motor, speech, and visual abilities.

The promise of this technology comes from its extremely small size paired with its ability to transmit data at very high speeds. Developed through a collaboration between Columbia University, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Stanford University, and the University of Pennsylvania, the device is a brain-computer interface (BCI) built around a single silicon chip. This chip forms a wireless, high-bandwidth link between the brain and external computers. The system is known as the Biological Interface System to Cortex (BISC).

A study published Dec. 8 in Nature Electronics outlines BISC's architecture, which includes the chip-based implant, a ...