Background

Jaimie Henderson, MD, is the John and Jene Blume-Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University and Director of Stanford’s Program in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. As co-director (with Frank Willett) of the Stanford Neural Prosthetics Translational Laboratory (NPTL), Henderson has dedicated his career to advancing surgical techniques for implanting brain-computer interfaces and translating BCI research into clinical benefit. His expertise spans stereotactic neurosurgery, functional neurosurgery, and neural prosthetics.

Key Contributions

Henderson has performed pioneering BCI implant surgeries, including those in landmark studies of speech BCIs. In one historic achievement, a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis whom Henderson treated achieved a record-breaking 62 words per minute in BCI-assisted typing—more than three times faster than the previous BCI record. The surgery involved implanting two 8x8 electrode arrays (64 electrodes each) penetrating into the motor and premotor cortex. Henderson’s surgical technique and expertise have been critical to the success of Stanford’s BCI research, enabling safe, precise electrode placement that achieves stable, high-quality neural recordings. His work encompasses not only surgical implantation but also ongoing clinical management of BCI patients and refinement of surgical approaches to minimize complications.

Current Work

Henderson continues to advance BCI neurosurgery at Stanford, pushing the boundaries of what is surgically possible in neural interface implantation. His research interests include novel approaches to brain access for electrode implantation, mechanisms of neural tissue response to implanted electrodes, and optimization of electrode positioning for maximum signal quality. Through his leadership of the Neural Prosthetics Translational Laboratory alongside Frank Willett, Henderson bridges the gap between neuroscientific research and clinical implementation, ensuring that laboratory discoveries are translated efficiently and safely into treatments for patients.