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Nature published several papers this week on new research relaying movement-related brain signals via an implanted microchip to a user interface on a computer. The researchers hope that one day these advances could help to enhance the prospect of clinicaly viable brain-machine interfaces.
Read an editorial and see the articles at the Nature website.
Dr Francisco Sepulveda, Coordinator of the Brain-Computer Interfaces Research Group, University of Essex, said:
“The paper in Nature is important in that it shows the first commercial attempt to use implanted technology that uses brain signals to control devices just by thinking. This technology will have immense impact for disabled individuals in the future, but it will eventually be used by the able-bodied as well. However, the functionality that can be restored with this implanted device is at the moment not much superior to what can be done using much cheaper devices that do not require surgery of any kind, such as the work done by several groups in the UK.
“The paper shows the sort of technology we could be exploring in the UK if there was more support for responsible animal experimentation. This new technology has become possible only because of years of ethical and humane experiments in animals. Without such experiments, we will soon be merely borrowing medical technology from countries that have tight yet reasonable regulations on animal experiments.”
On the paper ‘Neuronal ensemble control of prosthetic devices by a human with tetraplegia’, Maria Stokes, Professor of Neuromuscular Rehabilitation, University of Southampton, said:
“This is the first report showing that this specific brain-computer interface technology can be used successfully in humans. Even though only one person was studied, the findings are impressive, especially as you can use the system while talking.
“These advances reinforce the need for different approaches to brain-computer interface research. Two examples are: seeing whether this system also works well in people who don’t have normal brain function; and making recordings from the scalp for situations when using implanted devices may not be appropriate.”
On the paper ‘A high-performance brain-computer interface’, Dr Christopher James, Reader in Biomedical Signal Processing, University of Southampton, said:
“This study provides two very important steps forward for the use of brain computer interfaces in humans: a dramatic increase in rate of communication, coupled with an implanted system that may cope better with the demands of long-term use. The second finding partially addresses our concerns over the long-term viability of implanted BCI devices. Together, these new insights bring BCI in humans, one step closer to reality.”
Dr John Q Gan, Brain-Computer Interfaces Research Group, University of Essex, said:
“A brain-computer interface (BCI) controls a computer or robot by decoding human thoughts into commands, which opens up a new pathway of communication and control for people suffering from neurological injury or disease. The major obstacle of realistic BCI application is its low information transfer rate. It is dramatic and exciting that the BCI reported in the latest issue of Nature is over 10 times faster than previously reported EEG-based BCIs. I hope this amazing news would bring a boost to the BCI research in the UK.”