NOTE FROM TED: Technologies discussed in this talk remain an emerging field of research. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedx_content_guidelines.pdf

Brain disorders, such as depression, anxiety or ADHD affect hundreds of million people worldwide. Due to the complexity of the brain, effective treatments are lacking that target the underlying mechanisms in a personalized way. But there is hope, says Surjo Soekadar. Showing how brain-computer interfaces can impact quality of life in severe paralysis, Soekadar explains how the latest advances in neuro-tech may soon revolutionize how we tackle brain disorders, and shares the moving story of one of his patients. Surjo R. Soekadar, MD, is an Einstein Professor of Clinical Neurotechnology at the Charité – University Medicine Berlin and works on the next-generation neural-machine interfaces to restore human brain function. He and his team demonstrated for the first time that a noninvasive brain-hand-exoskeleton can enable quadriplegic people with complete finger paralysis to eat and drink independently in an outside restaurant. After studying medicine in Mainz, Heidelberg and Baltimore, he worked as a psychiatrist and psychotherapist at the University of Tübingen.

With support of the Einstein Foundation Berlin, he was appointed at the Charité, the largest university hospital in Europe, to foster clinical translation of the latest advances in neurotechnology. His research is supported by various public funding agencies, including the European Research Council (ERC) and the Federal Ministry of Research and Education. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx