On our December show, we talked about ethical issues surrounding brain-computer interfaces. We’ll pick up the topic again this month with a discussion about one type of brain-computer interface: neuroprosthetics. Our guest is Dr. Edward Chang, Professor and Chair of Neurological Surgery at the University of California San Francisco. Dr. Chang is an expert in brain mapping during neurosurgery, with the aim of preserving the brain areas responsible for language, speech, movement and emotion. His research focuses on neuro-prosthetics that can restore movement in people who are paralyzed and speech in people with speech disorders. As we’ll talk about today, this research raises interesting ideas about the neural representation of speech and language and the ethics surrounding brain-computer interfaces. Dr. Chang was interviewed by ANA Producer Dr. Amanda Jagolino-Cole of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Series 4, Episode 4.
Dr. Chang and UCSF have intellectual property related to algorithms for BCI, Dr. Chang is a consultant for Synchron