A highly robust brain-computer interface boasts low error rates and a durability that allows a user to talk all day long
Casey Harrell, who has lost his ability to speak due to ALS, using the BrainGate2 brain-computer interface while seated in his mobility device.By July 2023, Casey Harrell, then age 45, had lost the ability to speak to his then four-year-old daughter. The neurodegenerative disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis had gradually paralyzed him in the five years since his symptoms began.
The system also maintains its performance throughout hours of use. “We did a lot of engineering and a lot of testing and a lot of small innovations to make this work all day reliably,” says the study’s lead author Nicholas Card, a postdoctoral fellow in Stavisky’s and Brandman’s lab. Harrell estimates he employs the BCI for 70 hours per week. “I’m what they call a power user,” he says.
Participants have chips like Harrell’s embedded in the outer layer of their brain. The type of chip used in the trial, called a Utah Array, connects directly with brain tissue and reads the signals of individual neurons or small groups of neurons—typically, those in the motor cortex, a part of the brain that directs body movements. Machine-learning algorithms analyze the signals and translate them into the movement of, say, a cursor or a robotic arm. The basic setup is common to all BCIs.
Another priority for the team that developed Harrell’s BCI was a design that would enable a quick break-in period for a new user. “You have to move quickly to help these people,” Brandman says. To speed things up after the implant, the researchers tested their decoder on a biologically plausible computer model of how the brain might encode speech, broken down into its component frequencies.
Harrell is still working as an environmental activist more than five years into the disease. And he says the BCI is one reason why. It is many times faster than the communication methods he was using before, which included a head-controlled mouse and the help of someone who could interpret his vocalizations.
Another question is whether Harrell’s system will work for people whose speech paralysis is more advanced or does not result from ALS. Harrell still has some ability to move his mouth and make sounds. “How much residual function someone has may be very important for the function of this,” Chang says. “You can’t extrapolate this necessarily to everyone who is paralyzed, especially people who have more severe paralysis.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New Brain-Computer Interface Converts Brain Signals Into Speech With up to 97% AccuracyScience, Space and Technology News 2024
Read more »
New brain tech turns paralyzed patient’s thoughts into speech with 97% accuracyA new brain-computer interface can translate ALS patient's brain signals to speech with 97% accuracy—the highest ever achieved yet.
Read more »
A brain cell atlas integrating single-cell transcriptomes across human brain regionsWhile single-cell technologies have greatly advanced our comprehension of human brain cell types and functions, studies including large numbers of donors and multiple brain regions are needed to extend our understanding of brain cell heterogeneity.
Read more »
Dopamine physiology in the brain unveiled through cutting-edge brain engineeringResearchers have discovered a new correlation between neural signaling in the brain and dopamine signaling in the striatum. The human brain requires fast neural signal processing in a short period of less than a second.
Read more »
Dopamine physiology in the brain unveiled through cutting-edge brain engineeringResearchers have discovered a new correlation between neural signaling in the brain and dopamine signaling in the striatum. The human brain requires fast neural signal processing in a short period of less than a second.
Read more »
A brain fingerprint: Study uncovers unique brain plasticity in people born blindNeuroscientists reveal that the part of the brain that receives and processes visual information in sighted people develops a unique connectivity pattern in people born blind. They say this pattern in the primary visual cortex is unique to each person -- akin to a fingerprint.
Read more »