A handful of “locked-in” amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients can now work a laptop computer using their brain waves, thanks to an implant lodged in a major vein inside their skull.

The implant — a stent lined with 16 miniscule electrodes — is nestled in a vein located near the motor cortex of completely paralyzed patients, the authors of a new study on the procedure explained.

“This device senses the electrical activity that occurs in the motor cortex when someone thinks about moving their limbs,” said co-researcher Douglas Weber, a professor of mechanical engineering and neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh… Continue reading.