Smart chip ‘offers potential for creating neural implants’

A smart chip that can be paired with neural implants for wireless transmission of brain signals has been developed by researchers in Singapore.

Scientists at the Nanyang Technological University have created a chip that is able to analyse and decode thousands of signals from a neural implant, before compressing the data and sending it wirelessly to a small external receiver.

By condensing the amount of data that needs to be transmitted, the chip is able to run at a much lower power level than other devices, eliminating the need for a large and cumbersome wired power source.

The team tested the chip on data recorded from animal models, showing that it was able to decode the brain's signal to the hand and fingers with 95 percent accuracy.

Assistant professor Arindam Basu, from Nanyang Technological University's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, said: "It will lead to more compact medical wearable devices, such as portable ECG monitoring devices and neural implants, since we no longer need large batteries to power them."

The chip, which measures only five sq mm, can now be licensed by companies to develop as part of their own devices.