Neuroprosthetics is the broader field encompassing all devices that interface with the nervous system to restore or enhance lost function. While brain-computer interfaces are the most prominent category, neuroprosthetics also includes cochlear implants (restoring hearing for over one million people worldwide), deep brain stimulators (treating Parkinson's disease and essential tremor), and spinal cord stimulators (managing chronic pain and restoring some motor function after paralysis).
The neuroprosthetics field has decades of clinical success to build on. Cochlear implants, first approved by the FDA in the 1980s, demonstrated that electronic devices can meaningfully interface with the nervous system over a patient's lifetime. Deep brain stimulation, pioneered by Medtronic, has been implanted in over 200,000 patients. These established devices provide regulatory precedent, surgical infrastructure, and patient acceptance that newer BCI technologies can leverage as they move toward clinical deployment.
The frontier of neuroprosthetics is converging with advances in BCI, AI, and materials science. Bidirectional neuroprosthetics that both record from and stimulate the nervous system can create closed-loop systems — for example, a prosthetic arm that not only responds to brain commands but also sends touch sensations back to the brain. Companies like Blackrock Neurotech and Battelle are pursuing such bidirectional systems. As AI-driven decoding improves and electrode technology becomes less invasive, the scope of conditions addressable by neuroprosthetics continues to expand. For deeper coverage, see BCIIntel.