A click-based electrocorticographic brain-computer interface enables long-term high-performance switch-scan spelling

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can restore communication in movement- and/or speech-impaired individuals by enabling neural control of computer typing applications. Single command "click" decoders provide a basic yet highly functional capability.

We sought to test the performance and long-term stability of click-decoding using a chronically implanted high density electrocorticographic (ECoG) BCI with coverage of the sensorimotor cortex in a human clinical trial participant (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03567213) with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We trained the participant's click decoder using a small amount of training data (< 44 minutes across four days) collected up to 21 days prior to BCI use, and then tested it over a period of 90 days without any retraining or updating.

Using this click decoder to navigate a switch-scanning spelling interface, the study participant was able to maintain a median spelling rate of 10.2 characters per min. Though a transient reduction in signal power modulation interrupted testing with this fixed model, a new click decoder achieved comparable performance despite being trained with even less data (< 15 min, within one day).

These results demonstrate that a click decoder can be trained with a small ECoG dataset while retaining robust performance for extended periods, providing functional text-based communication to BCI users.