Tech enables rapid communication for two people with paralysis
A brain implant has enabled two people with paralysis to communicate through rapid, accurate typing using attempted finger movements.The device was tested in two BrainGate clinical trial participants, one with advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and the other with a spinal cord injury.A QWERTY keyboard was displayed in front of the participant, with each letter mapped to fingers and finger positions, up, down or curled.As the participant attempted these finger movements, microelectrode sensors placed in the motor cortex, the part of the brain that controls movement, detected the brain’s electrical activity and sent a signal to a computer system that translated the neural activity into letters.The output was then processed through a predictive language model to improve accuracy.The research was carried out by investigators from Mass General Brigham Neuroscience Institute and Brown University in the US.Daniel Rubin, a critical care neurologist with the Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery at Mass General Brigham Neuroscience Institute, said: “For many people with paralysis, when losing use of both the hands and the muscles of speech, communication can become difficult or impossible.“Often, people with severe speech and motor impairments end up relying on things like eye-gaze technology, spelling words out one letter at a time by using an eye movement tracking system.“Those systems take far too long for many users.“Patients often find this and other types of Augmentative and Alternative Communication systems frustrating to use.“BCIs are on track to become an important new alternative to what’s currently offered.”One participant in the study reached a top typing speed of 110 characters, or 22 words, per minute, with a word error rate of 1.6 per cent.Researchers said that was on a par with able-bodied typing accuracy.Both participants used the device from their own homes, suggesting potential for translation to at-home use in future. The devices were calibrated with as few as 30 sentences.Leigh Hochberg, leader of the BrainGate clinical trial and director of the Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery at Mass General Brigham Neuroscience Institute, said: “Since 2004, our BrainGate team has been advancing and testing the feasibility and efficacy of implantable brain computer interfaces to restore communication and independence for people with paralysis.“The BrainGate consortium demonstrates the strength of academic and university-based researchers working together, thinking about what’s possible, and then advancing the frontiers of restorative neurotechnology. And by doing so, we make it that much easier for industry to create the final form of implantable medical devices for our patients.”Justin Jude, a postdoctoral researcher at Mass General Brigham, said: “Decoding these finger movements is also a big step towards being able to restore complex reach and grasp movements for people with upper extremity paralysis.“And there’s also room to make this communication tool better, like implementing a stenography or otherwise personalised keyboard to make typing even faster.“Our BCI is a great example of how modern neuroscience and artificial intelligence technology can combine to create something capable of restoring communication and independence for people with paralysis.”
Comments (0)