Could a future exist where the brain and artificial intelligence systems communicate as effortlessly as a smartphone connecting to Wi-Fi? This may sound like science fiction, but researchers are taking steps toward that reality. A team from Columbia University, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Stanford University, and the University of Pennsylvania has developed a brain–computer interface (BCI) called the Biological Interface System to Cortex (BISC), described in Nature Electronics in a paper titled, “A wireless subdural-contained brain–computer interface with 65,536 electrodes and 1,024 channels.” The device promises ultra-high resolution neural recording and wireless operation in a very small form compared to conventional devices.
Current BCIs often rely on larger electronics housed in canisters implanted in the skull or chest, tethered by wires to the brain. These designs increase surgical complexity and risk of tissue damage, but there is a trade-off: invasiveness versus quality. “In electrophysiology, a fundamental trade-off exists between the invasiveness of the recording device and the spatiotemporal resolution and signal-to-noise ratio characteristics of the acquired neural signals,” the authors wrote.
BISC takes a different approach: a single silicon chip, just 50 μm thick, that can slide “into the space between the brain and the skull, resting on the brain like a piece of wet tissue paper,” said senior author Ken Shepard, PhD, Lau Family professor of electrical engineering at Columbia. “Semiconductor technology has made this possible, allowing the computing power of room-sized computers to now fit in your pocket,” he added. “We are now doing the same for medical implantables, allowing complex electronics to exist in the body while taking up almost no space.”
The chip integrates 65,536 electrodes and 1,024 simultaneous recording channels, along with wireless power and data telemetry—all on a single substrate. “This is a fundamentally different way of building BCI devices,” said co-author Nanyu Zeng, PhD.
Preclinical studies in pigs and nonhuman primates demonstrated chronic, reliable recordings for weeks to months from motor, sensory, and visual cortices. These experiments decoded complex patterns such as stimulus orientation and feature predictions for wrist velocity. “The key to effective brain–computer interface devices is to maximize the information flow to and from the brain, while making the device as minimally invasive in its surgical implantation as possible,” said chief clinical collaborator Brett Youngerman, MD, a neurosurgeon at Columbia. Youngerman and colleagues recently received NIH funding to explore BISC for drug-resistant epilepsy, underscoring its potential clinical impact.
Beyond therapy, the technology could eventually expand its uses. “BISC turns the cortical surface into an effective portal, delivering high-bandwidth, minimally invasive read–write communication with AI and external devices,” said Andreas Tolias, PhD, professor at the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University. “Its single-chip scalability paves the way for adaptive neuroprosthetics and brain–AI interfaces to treat many neuropsychiatric disorders, such as epilepsy.”
Studies in human patients for short-term inoperative recordings are already underway, according to the researchers. “By combining ultra-high resolution neural recording with fully wireless operation, and pairing that with advanced decoding and stimulation algorithms, we are moving toward a future where the brain and AI systems can interact seamlessly—not just for research, but for human benefit,” Shepard said. “This could change how we treat brain disorders, how we interface with machines, and ultimately how humans engage with AI.”
