Thermal considerations for the design of an implanted cortical brain-machine interface (BMI)

Devices for the brain-machine interface (BMI) are no longer science fiction but are being tested in patients with severe paralysis and advanced neuromuscular diseases.While the feasibility of controlling a device using brain-derived neural signals has been demonstrated, the first practical system for acquiring and processing these signals has yet to appear. This is in part because the implanted device technology needed to make a clinical BMI is substantially different in many ways from existing implanted devices. As described below, the BMI will use significantly more power than other implants. More power leads to the necessity of dissipating more heat inside the body.

Duke Scholars

Author Patrick D. Wolf Biomedical Engineering