{"687795":{"#nid":"687795","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Better Brain-Machine Interfaces Could Allow the Paralyzed to Communicate Again","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELast summer, a team of researchers reported using a brain-computer interface to detect words people with paralysis imagined saying, even without them physically attempting to speak. They also found they could differentiate between the imagined words they wished to express and the person\u2019s private inner thoughts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s a significant step toward helping people with diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, reconnect with language after they\u2019ve lost the ability to talk. And it\u2019s part of a long-running clinical trial on brain-computer interfaces involving biomedical engineers from Georgia Tech and Emory University alongside collaborators at Stanford University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brown University, and the University of California, Davis.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETogether, they\u2019re exploring how implanted devices can read brain signals and help patients use assistive devices to recover some of their lost abilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpeech has become one of the hottest areas for these interfaces as scientists leverage the power of artificial intelligence, according to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bio\/chethan-pandarinath\u0022\u003EChethan Pandarinath\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech and Emory and one of the researchers involved in the trials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe can place electrodes in parts of the brain that are related to speech,\u201d he said, \u201cand even if the person has lost the ability to talk, we can pick up the electrical activity as they try to speak and figure out what they\u2019re trying to say.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/coe.gatech.edu\/magazine\/2025\/fall\/allowing-paralyzed-communicate-again\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERead the full story in Helluva Engineer magazine.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBiomedical engineer Chethan Pandarinath collaborates with neurosurgeons and scientists across the country in a massive project to help patients with ALS or stroke damage reconnect with the world.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Biomedical engineer Chethan Pandarinath collaborates with neurosurgeons and scientists across the country in a massive project to help patients with ALS or stroke damage reconnect with the world."}],"uid":"27446","created_gmt":"2026-01-28 20:16:09","changed_gmt":"2026-01-28 20:19:50","author":"Joshua Stewart","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-01-28T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2026-01-28T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"679122":{"id":"679122","type":"image","title":"Pandarinath-Brain-Interface_web.jpg","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring a research session, a participant imagines saying the text cue on the screen. The bottom text is the brain-computer interface\u2019s prediction of the imagined words. (Photo courtesy: Chethan Pandarinath)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1769631407","gmt_created":"2026-01-28 20:16:47","changed":"1769631407","gmt_changed":"2026-01-28 20:16:47","alt":"During a research session, a participant looks at a monitor and imagines saying the text cue displayed on screen. Text below the cue shows the brain-computer interface\u2019s prediction of her imagined words.","file":{"fid":"263243","name":"Pandarinath-Brain-Interface_web.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/01\/28\/Pandarinath-Brain-Interface_web.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/01\/28\/Pandarinath-Brain-Interface_web.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":738032,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/01\/28\/Pandarinath-Brain-Interface_web.jpg?itok=B3-ADFDu"}}},"media_ids":["679122"],"groups":[{"id":"1237","name":"College of Engineering"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"172970","name":"go-neuro"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jstewart@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJoshua Stewart\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECollege of Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jstewart@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}