Reconnecting a paralyzed man’s brain to his body through technology | Chad Bouton | TEDxColumbus

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. What if you were in an accident or had a stroke that left you paralyzed or without the ability to speak? Chad Bouton is an engineer and researcher who found himself in that situation after a traumatic brain injury and facing that very question. He is now helping to advance a technology called ‘neural bridging’ that forms an artificial neural bypass that could help the millions of people living with paralysis and other effects from stroke and spinal cord or brain injuries. This talk will describe the revolutionary research and development that is underway and you will meet the first paralyzed patient to move again with this type of technology.

Chad Bouton is a Research Leader at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio, serving as principal investigator for numerous cutting-edge research and development programs. His expertise includes bio-sensors, neural prosthetics and decoding, and linear and nonlinear signal processing and control methods.

Bouton developed neural decoding methods that allowed a person to control a wheelchair with a brain implant for the first time. He also developed new signal processing methods for cancer detection systems to aid surgeons in more efficiently and effectively pinpointing cancerous tissue intra-operatively.

He holds 67 patents worldwide and has earned three R&D 100 Awards. In 2010, Bouton was recognized by Congress for his work in the medical device field and was awarded with Battelle’s highest honor, Inventor of the Year. In 2011, he became a Distinguished Inventor at Battelle and was recognized by the National Academy of Engineering. He twice has won the Battelle Technical Achievement Award for his innovation and development of a new medical technology using radio frequency (RF) based sensing methods and for improved methods to decode signals from the human brain.



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