Principal Investigator Jing Kong
Co-investigator Emilio Bizzi
Professors Bizzi and Kong are exploring the use of carbon nanotubes as an alternated, biocompatible alternative material. To study long-term changes in the brain, researchers need to make chronic recordings of neural activity. But the standard electrodes can damage brain tissue and lose their electrical contacts over time, so there is a need for alternative materials. Bizzi, who researches the control of movement, wants to use long-term recordings initially for basic research but ultimately for prosthetic devices in human patients. Such devices might, for example, allow a paralyzed patient to control a robotic arm or a computer directly from the brain.