Early feasibility of an embedded bi-directional brain-computer interface for ambulation

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Technology

Background:

• Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes significant motor and sensory deficits, leading to wheelchair dependence and reduced quality of life.
• Current treatments for SCI are limited, and existing brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) for ambulation often lack sensory feedback and rely on cumbersome external hardware.
• Restoring both motor control and sensory feedback is crucial for improving functional recovery and daily living for individuals with SCI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate an embedded bi-directional brain-computer interface (BDBCI) system.
• To restore motor function through neural control of a robotic gait exoskeleton (RGE).
• To provide sensory feedback via direct cortical electrical stimulation (DCES) synchronized with RGE movement.

Main Methods:

• Development of an embedded bi-directional BCI (BDBCI) system integrating neural control and sensory feedback.
• Implementation of neural control of a robotic gait exoskeleton (RGE) using electrocorticography (ECoG) signals.
• Delivery of sensory feedback through direct cortical electrical stimulation (DCES) in response to RGE leg swing.

Main Results:

• The BDBCI system successfully enabled neural control of the RGE, restoring motor function for ambulation.
• Sensory feedback was delivered via DCES, correlating with RGE leg swing.
• A single-subject demonstration achieved an average lag-optimized cross-correlation of 0.80±0.08 between neural cues and decoded states over 5 runs.

Conclusions:

• The presented embedded BDBCI system shows promise for restoring both motor and sensory functions in individuals with SCI.
• This technology offers a more integrated and potentially practical solution compared to existing BCI systems for ambulation.
• Further research and clinical trials are warranted to validate the efficacy and long-term benefits of this BDBCI system.