The U. has picked its own subcontractors for the first phase. Ripple, a Utah company founded by Shane Guillory, will develop a wearable computer that can understand and translate the signals being sent from the nerves to the array to the artificial arm and back again. Germany-based Fraunhofer IZM will figure out how to make the electrode array wireless and combine it with signal processors and amplifiers to relay the signals back and forth. And Fraunhofer IBMT will design a process to encapsulate components so they can safely be implanted in people.

The prosthetic arm itself, other neural interfaces, even the motor that powers the arm, are being developed at other institutions. Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory oversees the grant and the entire project.

Utah's initial grant is $4.8 million, rising to as much as $10.3 million depending on a successful first phase.

Other U. researchers involved include Normann; Dr. Douglas T. Hutchinson, an associate professor of orthopedics; and Nicholas Brown, a research assistant professor in orthopedic surgery, who will help with preclinical and human studies; bioengineering professor Patrick Tresco, who will test the device and its components to ensure safe use in humans; Reid Harrison, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, who will develop miniature components such as amplifiers and signal processors; and Florian Solzbacher, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, who will manufacture the array's components, assemble them and enclose the device to survive being implanted.

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E-mail: lois@desnews.com