Systems, methods, and devices for controlling external devices by signals derived directly from the nervous system

An instrument for collecting multicellular signals directly from a central nervous system and transmitting the signals to an external receiver, comprising:

• A) at least one sensor for receiving the signals, wherein the sensor comprises:
• i) a bundle of wires of staggered lengths arranged in an array, wherein each wire has a tip for receiving multicellular signals from the central nervous system;
• and
• ii) an optical cement bead through which the wires pass for holding the wires in position in a selected distance from the most distant wire tip;
• and
• B) a signal processor connected to the sensor for multiplexing and transmitting the signals from the sensor to the external receiver;
• wherein the signal processor conducts adaptive processing of the signals from the sensor so that the instrument responds to changes in the multicellular signals.

A channel display system for monitor recorded multicellular signals, comprising:

• A) a device for recording multichannel neural signals directly from a central nervous system and broadcasting the signals, wherein the device has electrodes with staggered tips, each electrode is sized to have a surface area greater than 400 μm2, and each electrode is for detecting multicellular signals;
• B) an external receiver for receiving the multicellular signals;
• C) electric connection means for connecting to an external receiver to relay the signals;
• and
• D) a visual display for displaying the signals in a matrix, wherein each cell of the matrix represents a separate neural data channel.

A system for collecting multicellular signals directly from a central nervous system and for transmitting processed signals to a device, comprising:

• a sensor for detecting multicellular signals directly from the central nervous system, the sensor having a plurality of electrodes for being implanted near the central nervous system to allow for chronic detection of the multicellular signals, each electrode for detecting multicellular signals from the central nervous system;
• and
• an interface for receiving the multicellular signals from the sensor, for processing the multicellular signals to generate processed signals, and for transmitting the processed signals to the device;
• and
• the device for receiving the processed signals;
• wherein the interface conducts adaptive processing of the multicellular signals so that the system responds to changes in the multicellular signals.