High-bandwidth neural interfacing using visible light communication

The lack of a circuit understanding of our brains is limiting development of treatments for disorders. This is underlined by the fact that there has not been a fundamentally new class of drugs for psychiatric disorders since the 1970s. Technology is now at a level of sophistication to address this challenge. Despite recent investments in brain interfacing, no technology exists to wirelessly transmit neural data at the required bandwidths. Our lightweight, high data rate, wireless approach is capable of transmitting over a 1000 times more neural information. This could revolutionize pharmaceutical approaches by observing drug interactions across brain structures at scale.

Furthermore, the recent significant advances in neuroscience have piqued the interest of several large corporations who are investing substantial resources into creating high-bandwidth neural interfaces for various purposes. Web giants, such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft are tracking these new technologies carefully. Facebook is strongly involved in project of "typing-by-brain" as a silent speech interface and has recently invested $10 million in Blackrock Microsystems, while Microsoft is publishing patents on "mind control" that allow users to operate apps using their mind without gesture **(Yole Development)**.

Research at the moment in this area predominantly focuses on the mouse model. A key barrier in the field is the lack of small low power devices that can satisfy wireless high data rate transmissions. NeuroVLC will provide the solution to this.