invasive · single-unit · available
Utah Array
Identity
- Manufacturer
- Blackrock Neurotech
- Model number
- —
- Codename
- —
- Aliases
- NeuroPort Array, Utah Electrode Array, UEA
- Generation
- —
- Country of origin
- US
- Released
- Announced
- —
- Discontinued
- —
- Status
- available
Classification
- Invasiveness
- invasive
- Modalities
- single-unit, multi-unit, LFP
- Primary modality
- single-unit
- Direction
- read-write
- Categories
- medical-implant, research-grade, communication-aac, prosthetic-control
- Form factor
- intracortical-implant
- Use cases
- intracortical recording of single-unit and multi-unit activity, intracortical microstimulation for sensory feedback, BrainGate and related cursor / robotic-arm / speech-decoding BCIs
- Target users
- neuroscience-researcher, neurosurgeon, patient-spinal-cord-injury, patient-als, patient-paralysis, patient-locked-in
Electrodes
- Total channels
- 96
- Recording channels
- 96
- Reference channels
- —
- Electrode type
- penetrating-shank
- Material
- silicon, platinum, iridium-oxide
- 10-20 positions
- —
- Requires gel
- No
- Requires saline
- No
- Prep time
- —
- Reusable
- No
- Disposable
- Yes
Signal acquisition
- Sampling rate
- —
- ADC resolution
- —
- Notch filters
- —
- Onboard artifact rejection
- No
Stimulation
- Capable
- Yes
Connectivity
- Protocols
- —
- Bluetooth
- —
- Bluetooth profiles
- —
- Concurrent mode
- —
- Encryption (transit)
- —
- Pairing methods
- —
- Cloud sync
- No
- Offline recording
- No
Power
- Sources
- none
- Battery life (active)
- —
- Charging port
- —
- Charging time
- —
- Battery replaceable
- —
- Notes
- Passive electrode array. Power and signal conditioning are provided by external acquisition hardware via the percutaneous pedestal.
Physical
- Weight
- —
- Dimensions
- 4 mm L × 4 mm W × 1.5 mm H
- Materials
- silicon, platinum, iridium-oxide, parylene-c
- Sizes
- —
- Head circumference
- —
- Operating temp
- —
Compute
- Has onboard computer
- No
- Operating systems
- —
- Primary OS
- —
- Edge ML accelerator
- No
- Root access
- —
- App sandbox
- —
- 3rd-party apps allowed
- —
- Notes
- Passive electrode array — all amplification, filtering, and computation occur off-implant on the acquisition system.
Software & data
- Mobile app
- No
- Cloud platform
- No
- Offline mode
- —
- Subscription required
- No
- Raw data access
- Yes
- Export formats
- —
- LSL support
- —
- Data ownership
- —
- Apps
- —
SDK & developer access
- Has SDK
- —
- Open source
- —
- Languages
- —
- Web Bluetooth
- No
- Raw sample access
- Yes
- BCI paradigms
- cursor-control, 2d-cursor, 3d-cursor, robotic-arm, decoded-speech, handwriting-decoder, click-decoder
- 3rd-party integrations
- —
- Docs
- —
Capabilities
- Attention / focus
- —
- Meditation / calm
- —
- Neurofeedback
- —
- Meditation coaching
- —
- Sleep tracking
- —
Security
- Authentication factors
- none
- Per-user profiles
- No
- Requires account
- No
- Claiming methods
- none
- Ownership model
- single-owner
- Activation lock
- No
- Remote lock
- No
- Remote wipe
- No
- Find my device
- No
- Notes
- —
Firmware & updates
- OTA supported
- No
- OTA transports
- —
- Update mechanism
- —
- Update channels
- —
- Rollback supported
- —
- Signed updates
- —
- Forced updates
- —
- User deferrable
- —
- Requires app companion
- —
- Average update frequency
- —
- Notes
- Passive array — no firmware on the implant itself.
Regulatory & clinical
- FDA status
- 510k
- CE mark
- —
- Certifications
- —
- Prescription required
- Yes
- Pediatric approved
- —
Pricing & availability
- MSRP
- —
- Current price
- —
- Subscription
- —
- Warranty
- —
- Return policy (days)
- —
- Where to buy
- —
Media & links
- Official site
- blackrockneurotech.com
- Product page
- blackrockneurotech.com
Editor’s take
In favor
- Two decades of human-implant track record across dozens of patients
- FDA 510(k)-cleared and commercially available to qualified researchers
- Bidirectional (recording + microstimulation) when fitted with IrOx tips
- Most published landmark intracortical BCI results were obtained on this hardware
Against
- Requires open craniectomy and a percutaneous pedestal connector
- Channel count (~96/array) is now substantially below newer devices
- Signal quality degrades over months–years due to gliosis
- MR-unsafe in most clinical contexts
Sources & provenance
- Blackrock Neurotech — Utah Array product page
- Blackrock Neurotech — NeuroPort Array product page
- FDA 510(k) K110010 — NeuroPort Cortical Microelectrode Array System
- Hochberg et al. 2006 — first BrainGate Nature paper
- Willett et al. 2021 — handwriting decoder
- Willett, Kunz et al. 2023 — speech neuroprosthesis
Last reviewed