Intracortical BCI

A brain-computer interface that records neural activity directly from inside the cerebral cortex, typically using surgically implanted microelectrode arrays such as the Utah array. Compared with non-invasive EEG-based BCIs, intracortical BCIs offer dramatically higher signal-to-noise ratio and spatial resolution, enabling fine-grained decoding of intended speech, cursor movement, handwriting, and prosthetic limb control for people with severe paralysis or anarthria. The trade-off is invasiveness: implantation requires neurosurgery and current devices are confined to clinical trials such as BrainGate. Intracortical BCIs are an active area of accessibility and AAC research, with recent demonstrations of speech decoding at conversational speeds and cursor control comparable to or faster than eye tracking.