UC Davis launches BrainGate2 speech restoration clinical trial, recruiting paralyzed and ALS patients

BrainGate consortium/BrainGate2 clinical trial (speech neuroprosthesis)

UC Davis Health began recruiting participants for a clinical trial to develop a 'neurological prosthesis' using brain-computer interfaces to restore speech to people with paralysis or speech loss from spinal cord injury, brainstem stroke, ALS, or other neurological conditions. Four microelectrode arrays are implanted in the speech-generating region of the brain; machine-learning algorithms decode intended speech and convert it to synthesized speech using text-to-speech software.

• Target population: adults 18+ with paralysis in arms and legs or speech difficulties.
• Implantation location: speech-generating region of brain using Utah arrays.
• Lead researchers: David Brandman (neurosurgeon) and Sergey Stavisky (neuroscientist).
• Contact: braingate@ucdavis.edu; braingate.org for more information.