Miguel A. L. Nicolelis
Biography
In creating the field of neuroengineering, Miguel A.L. Nicolelis’ pioneering work on brain-machine interfaces has completely changed people’s perception of what brains can do and how such research can be rapidly applied to help humans. Nicolelis demonstrated that humans can use raw brain activity to directly communicate with mechanical, electronic, and virtual devices in real time and in a closed control loop. He played a key role in the development of a robotic exoskeleton that can help paralyzed individuals to walk. He focused on methods to read a paraplegic person’s brain waves and decode and use them to move hydraulic drivers on the suit. His work has great implications for patients with epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injury.
An IEEE member, Nicolelis is the Duke School of Medicine Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience at Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
