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The Brain-Machine Interfacing Initiative at the University of Freiburg has established a multi-disciplinary collaboration for the research and development of innovative technology which enables computers or prosthetic devices to be controlled by signals from the human brain.
Our primary goal is to gain access to neuronal control signals which are normally issued by healthy human (and monkey) brains when making voluntary movements.We are particularly interested in hand and arm movements, and in translating such signals into control signals for artificial actuators, in the simplest case a computer screen cursor. Eventually such techniques may lead to the restoration of motor control functions in paralyzed patients.
The basic research activities of the initiative focus on the function of neuronal systems that accomplish sensory-motor transformation and exert motor control. Increased insight into the mechanisms underlying motor behavior is required to improve approaches in neuronal motor prostheses. The BMI-directed research and development offers new perspectives for understanding the physiology of the human motor system.
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