A team at Tel Aviv University is working on an implantable chip that could restore lost functions of the brain after traumatic brain injuries, such as those caused by a car accident or stroke. The researchers record brain activity using electrodes implanted in problem areas of the brain. After analyzing the activity, the team develops algorithms to simulate healthy neuronal activity. These algorithms are then programmed into a microchip and delivered back into the brain.

"The chip itself can be implanted just under the skin, like pacemakers for the heart, ensuring that the brain is stimulated only when it needs to be," says Matti Mintz, one of the researchers on the project, which is part of a European consortium.

The Rehabilitation Nano Chip (ReNaChip) is connected to electrodes that are implanted in the brain, but it could eventually be miniaturized enough to be etched directly onto the electrodes.