Brain-Computer Interfaces for Stroke and Other Neurological Conditions

Bioengineering responsive, implantable devices to aid in stroke recovery, paralysis, epilepsy and related conditions

Technology Overview

Dr. Jeffrey Ojemann

While many resources have been poured into neural implants, these devices are still far from having major clinical benefit to patients. Neurosurgeon Jeffrey Ojemann, MD, has pioneered the development and testing of brain implants, also known as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), that can overcome paralysis and other movement disorders in patients. The knowledge gained from this research is contributing to a better understanding of the human brain.

Along with collaborators at the University of Washington, Dr. Ojemann is leading the world’s first clinical trial of its kind of a BCI that uses brain stimulation to induce neural plasticity (i.e., recovery) in stroke patients who have paralysis. The trial is testing a device manufactured by the company CorTec that delivers electrical stimulation to patients’ brains. The first phase of the trial will enroll four adult patients in total. In 2025, the first patient was enrolled in this trial and gained significant movement ability on his left side, which he had previously been unable to move after having had a stroke.

This engineered plasticity technology, which uses a 6-week course of responsive electrical stimulation to spur new neural connections in damaged parts of the brain, has the potential to help stroke patients and has been proposed for a variety of neurologic and psychiatric conditions such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders; mental illnesses such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression; and chronic pain.

Dr. Ojemann has also used the signals recorded from brain implants to control a BCI such as an external robotic arm or hand. This type of brain-controlled prosthesis could greatly improve the lives of individuals with permanent paralysis, such as from a spinal cord injury.

As a specialist in adult and pediatric epilepsy, Dr. Ojemann makes use of the current surgical treatments for epilepsy that use invasive brain implants to monitor brain signals and deliver stimulation to localize seizures and map brain function. Dr. Ojemann recruits patients who are undergoing this treatment for epilepsy to participate in research studies designed to learn about brain function from recording and stimulation. The studies focus on tasks and parts of the brain that will increase knowledge and inform future treatments in different networks, including those responsible for motor function, language and mental health conditions such as treatment-resistant anxiety and depression. These studies can be used to validate noninvasive forms of brain recordings such as fMRI or EEG and emerging therapies such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and low-frequency ultrasound.

Dr. Ojemann has 25 years of experience studying cortical physiology and engineering BCIs, including partnerships and advisory positions with biotechnology companies. He is interested in collaborating with industry partners on projects that are related to expanding the use of brain implants for a wide range of neurological diseases, including stroke, spinal cord injury, neurodegenerative disorders, cerebral palsy and spina bifida. Extension of existing technologies into the pediatric population early in the development process would leverage this unique combination of expertises.

Stage of Development

• Clinical trials

Partnering Opportunities

• Collaborative research and development
• Sponsored research agreement
• Consultation agreement
• Clinical trials
• Investigator-initiated clinical trials
• Human tissue sample access
• Data access

Learn More

• Jeffrey G. Ojemann, MD
• Ojemann Lab

Publications

1. Cho H, Benjaber M, Alexis Gkogkidis C … Ojemann JG, et al. Development and evaluation of a real-time phase-triggered stimulation algorithm for the CorTec brain interchange. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2024;32:3625-3635.
2. Kuo CH, Liu GT, Lee CE … Ojemann JG. Decoding micro-electrocorticographic signals by using explainable 3D convolutional neural network to predict finger movements. J Neurosci Methods. 2024;411:110251.
3. Caldwell DJ, Ojemann JG, Rao RPN. Direct electrical stimulation in electrocorticographic brain-computer interfaces: enabling technologies for input to cortex. Front Neurosci. 2019;13:804.
4. Wilson NR, Sarma D, Wander JD … Ojemann JG, Rao RPN. Cortical topography of error-related high-frequency potentials during erroneous control in a continuous control brain-computer interface. front Neurosci. 2019;13:502.
5. Herron JA, Thompson MC, Brown T … Ojemann JG, Ko AL. Cortical brain-computer interface for closed-loop deep brain stimulation. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2017;25:2180-2187.
6. Collins KL, Guterstam A, Cronin J … Ojemann JG. Ownership of an artificial limb induced by electrical brain stimulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2017;114:166-171.
7. Herron JA, Thompson MC, Brown T … Ojemann JG, Ko AL. Chronic electrocorticography for sensing movement intention and closed-loop deep brain stimulation with wearable sensors in an essential tremor patient. J Neurosurg. 2017;127:580-587.
8. Wander JD, Sarma D, Johnson LA … Ojemann JG, Darvas F. Cortico-cortical interactions during acquisition and use of a neuroprosthetic skill. PLOS Comput Biol. 2016;12:e1004931.

Last updated April 9, 2026