The Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has awarded the sixth annual Sean M. Healey International Prize for Innovation in ALS to Leigh Hochberg, M.D., Ph.D., and the team behind the groundbreaking BrainGate Consortium.
The team consists of 12 Principal Investigators across five institutions, including L. Brown’s Herbert Ballou University Professor of Engineering and Professor of Brain Science Hochberg, Henry Merritt Wriston Professor of Neuroscience and Professor of Engineering John Donoghue, and Assistant Professor of Engineering (Research) John Simeral. Physicians and researchers from MGH, University of California at Davis, Emory University and Stanford University were also awarded as part of the collaborative effort.
The $50,000 USD prize was presented to the team during the 35th International Symposium on ALS/MND in Montreal, Quebec by Merit Cudkowicz, MD, MSc, Director of the Healey & AMG Center at MGH.
The BrainGate team is developing groundbreaking Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) to restore communication, mobility and independence in a variety of neurological diseases including ALS, spinal cord injury, and stroke. The investigational BrainGate system includes a sensor which is implanted into the brain to monitor brain activity and convert the intention of the user into computer commands. Brain signals are decoded by software and used to control an external device, such as a robotic arm or a computer cursor. This technology can allow an individual with paralysis to manipulate objects (such as moving a robotic arm or using a computer) using only their intended movements, thus "turning thought into action." The multi-institutional BrainGate team can also transmit commands from a human brain to a computer using a percutaneous, wireless system, and has been conducting its research with clinical trial participants in their place of residence – testing the device where it needs to work most. The BrainGate clinical trials are ongoing.
“Our BrainGate team is deeply honored to receive the Healey International Prize. This incredible recognition highlights both the progress that can emerge from collaborative, multidisciplinary research, and the broad potential for implantable BCIs to maintain or restore lost neurologic function for people with ALS or other forms of paralysis,” said Hochberg, “We dedicate this honor to our extraordinary research participants whose insights guide us at every step, and we feel every day the urgency of developing technologies that will enable intuitive, fast, fluent communication for people with severe speech and motor impairments.”
“Dr. Hochberg and the entire BrainGate team have created something that will have a deeply profound impact on the lives of those affected by ALS and neurodegenerative disease,” said Cudkowicz, who is also the Chair of Neurology at MGH. “This pioneering work represents a monumental leap forward in ALS research and care, creating a beacon of hope for patients and families. We look forward to seeing the transformative impact of their work on the future of neurological treatment and rehabilitation.”
The annual Sean M. Healey International Prize for Innovation in ALS is a global prize celebrating excellence in research for a team of investigators who catalyze exceptional discoveries leading to a transformative advance in therapy development in ALS.
*adapted from a news release by Juliana Araujo, Communication Specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital