Independent Mobility Achieved through a Wireless Brain-Machine Interface.
Individuals with tetraplegia lack independent mobility, making them highly dependent on others to move from one place to another. Here, we describe how two macaques were able to use a wireless integrated system to control a robotic platform, over which they were sitting, to achieve independent mobility using the neuronal activity in their motor cortices. The activity of populations of single neurons was recorded using multiple electrode arrays implanted in the arm region of primary motor cortex, and decoded to achieve brain control of the platform. We found that free-running brain control of the platform (which was not equipped with any machine intelligence) was fast and accurate, resembling the performance achieved using joystick control. The decoding algorithms can be trained in the absence of joystick movements, as would be required for use by tetraplegic individuals, demonstrating that the non-human primate model is a good pre-clinical model for developing such a cortically-controlled movement prosthetic. Interestingly, we found that the response properties of some neurons differed greatly depending on the mode of control (joystick or brain control), suggesting different roles for these neurons in encoding movement intention and movement execution. These results demonstrate that independent mobility can be achieved without first training on prescribed motor movements, opening the door for the implementation of this technology in persons with tetraplegia.
Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.|Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.|Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Camilo
C
Libedinsky
Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Rosa
R
So
Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Zhiming
Z
Xu
Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Toe K
TK
Kyar
National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore, Singapore.
Duncun
D
Ho
Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Clement
C
Lim
Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Louiza
L
Chan
Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Yuanwei
Y
Chua
Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Lei
L
Yao
Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Jia Hao
JH
Cheong
Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Jung Hyup
JH
Lee
Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Kulkarni Vinayak
KV
Vishal
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Yongxin
Y
Guo
Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.|Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Zhi Ning
ZN
Chen
Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Lay K
LK
Lim
Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Peng
P
Li
Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Lei
L
Liu
Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Xiaodan
X
Zou
Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Kai K
KK
Ang
Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Yuan
Y
Gao
National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore, Singapore.
Wai Hoe
WH
Ng
Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Boon Siew
BS
Han
Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Keefe
K
Chng
Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.|School of Computer Science and Engineering, and School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
Cuntai
C
Guan
Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
Minkyu
M
Je
Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.|Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Shih-Cheng
SC
Yen
D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D062207:Brain-Computer Interfaces; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D009068:Movement; D012984:Software; D059015:Wireless Technology