Home
01
Join Us, In Saving Lives And Engineering The Future
We are a diverse team of talented people who are dedicated to building technology that radically improves human lives.
August 13, 2025
blackrock-jessn
Background Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of somatosensory cortex can restore a sense of touch to people with spinal cord injury (SCI). In this early-feasibility clinical trial, we evaluate the safety, efficacy, and longevity of ICMS as there is a paucity of such long-term studies in humans. This information is crucial to the development of clinical neuromodulation devices, particularly for restoring touch, hearing, and vision.
Methods ICMS was delivered to five participants with SCI who were each implanted with two Blackrock NeuroPort microelectrode arrays in the hand representation of Brodmann’s Area 1. Across implant durations spanning two to ten years, we measured single-electrode detection thresholds, projected fields, quality reports, and electrode health characteristics. ICMS-related adverse events were documented throughout.
Results Over 168 million ICMS pulses were delivered across a combined implant duration of 24 years without any serious adverse events or direct negative effects on electrode health. ICMS consistently evoked sensations localized to the hand. Rarely, sensations persisted for brief periods after stimulation offset (3–25 events across participants). ICMS detection thresholds increased slowly over time (∼3.5 μA/year), but 62±15% of the electrodes still reliably evoke tactile sensations (∼25% decrease in functional electrodes), including 55% of the electrodes after 10 years in one participant. The quality and projected field coverage of ICMS-evoked sensations were both consistent.
Conclusions Delivering ICMS to somatosensory cortex was safe and reliable, consistently evoking informative somatosensory percepts as long as 10 years, demonstrating the clinical promise of ICMS for sensory restoration.
Read the full pre-print here.
Authors: Charles M. Greenspon, Taylor G. Hobbs, Ceci Verbaarschot, Ali H. Alamri, Natalya D. Shelchkova, Robin Lienkämper,Joel Ye, Tyler W. Simpson, Jeffrey M. Weiss, David M. Weir, Debbie E. Harrington, Ashley Van Driesche, David Satzer, Giacomo Valle, Lee E. Miller, Nicholas G. Hatsopoulos, Jorge Gonzalez-Martinez, Peter C. Warnke,John E. Downey, Michael L. Boninger, Jennifer L. Collinger, Robert A. Gaunt
