Brain implants may help paralysed patients

British engineers are developing the technology, which employs microchips to sense nerve messages, decode the signals, and turn thought into movement.

They hope within five years to be offering patients with damaged spinal cords robotic devices that will enable them to move arms or legs at will.

Spinal cord injuries cause paralysis by severing the connection between brain and limb.

Professor Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, heading a University of Leicester team working on the project, said such patients retain the ability to "think" commands from the brain.

He told The Engineer magazine: "The guy can see the object he wants to reach, the guy can have the intention to reach to the object, the brain can send a command to the arm – 'reach for this cup of tea' – but the signal gets broken at the level of the spinal cord.

"If we can get the signals from these neurons and interpret them with what is called decoding algorithms, then we can move a robot device placed on the paralysed arm."

Much of the technology is already available but has not previously involved wireless technology. The project is part of a 1m research programme.