Neural Point-and-Click Communication by a Person With Incomplete Locked-In Syndrome.
A goal of brain-computer interface research is to develop fast and reliable means of communication for individuals with paralysis and anarthria. We evaluated the ability of an individual with incomplete locked-in syndrome enrolled in the BrainGate Neural Interface System pilot clinical trial to communicate using neural point-and-click control. A general-purpose interface was developed to provide control of a computer cursor in tandem with one of two on-screen virtual keyboards. The novel BrainGate Radial Keyboard was compared to a standard QWERTY keyboard in a balanced copy-spelling task. The Radial Keyboard yielded a significant improvement in typing accuracy and speed-enabling typing rates over 10 correct characters per minute. The participant used this interface to communicate face-to-face with research staff by using text-to-speech conversion, and remotely using an internet chat application. This study demonstrates the first use of an intracortical brain-computer interface for neural point-and-click communication by an individual with incomplete locked-in syndrome.
School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA daniel_bacher@brown.edu.
Daniel
D
Bacher
Dept. of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology, Dept. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA.
Beata
B
Jarosiewicz
Dept. of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Nicolas Y
NY
Masse
School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology, Dept. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA.
Sergey D
SD
Stavisky
School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology, Dept. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA Dept. of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
John D
JD
Simeral
Dept. of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Katherine
K
Newell
Dept. of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Erin M
EM
Oakley
Dept. of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA Dept. of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Sydney S
SS
Cash
Dept. of Neurosurgery, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
Gerhard
G
Friehs
School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology, Dept. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA Dept. of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA Dept. of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Leigh R
LR
Hochberg
D062207:Brain-Computer Interfaces; D003142:Communication; D003143:Communication Devices for People with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014584:User-Computer Interface
ALS; assistive technology; paralysis; spinal cord injury; stroke; text entry