A brain-computer interface allows a person with paralysis to play a video game

A scientific team has implanted a brain-computer interface in a person with paralysis capable of detecting and decoding finger movements, which allowed him, thanks to its degree of precision, to play a video game.

The details of this experiment are published in the journal Nature Medicine, in an article led by researchers from the American universities of Stanford and Michigan, who recall that among people with paralysis there are still unmet needs for social and leisure activities, such as video games.

Brain-computer interfaces have been recognized as a possible solution for motor recovery, but Current examples of this technology have had problems with complex movements such as those of the fingerswhich could help with activities such as typing, playing musical instruments, or using a video game controller.

Researchers, including Matthew S. Willsey, Francis R. Willett, and Jaimie M. Henderson, developed a brain-computer interface capable of continuously recording electrical activity patterns from multiple neurons in the brain to translate complex movements.

This was surgically implanted in the brain region responsible for controlling hand movements.in a person with spinal cord injury at the cervical level and almost total loss of motor function of both the upper and lower extremities.

Neural activity was recorded while the participant watched a virtual hand making various movements, after which the researchers used machine learning algorithms to identify signals linked to specific finger movements.

Using these signals, the system was able to accurately predict finger movements, allowing the participant to control three very different sets of fingers, including two-dimensional thumb movements, on a virtual hand.

This system achieved a level of precision and freedom of movement higher than that which was possible until then.states a summary of the magazine.

The authors then expanded the application of this finger control to a video game.

Finger movements decoded by the interface were programmed to control the speed and direction of a virtual quadcopter, allowing the participant to pilot the device through multiple obstacle courses as part of a video game.

For Eduardo Fernández, director of the Bioengineering Institute at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche, the study is well designed and of high quality. The researchers implanted a total of 192 electrodes (two 96-electrode arrays) in the person’s left brain hemisphere.explains this researcher who is not involved in the work.

From the recordings of the brain activity of the neurons close to these electrodes, the scientists were able to continuously decode the intentions of the finger movements, overcoming some of the limitations of previous studies, details Science Media Center Spain , a scientific resource platform for journalists.

“The study presents a significant advance in the field of brain-computer interfaces by achieving continuous decoding of finger movements with a high degree of freedom”.

According to Fernández, the demonstration of the control of a virtual quadcopter represents an important step towards the creation of more intuitive and functional interfaces for people with paralysis.

However, this research was carried out on a single person, so more studies are still necessary, according to Fernández.

Additionally, the flow of information remains unidirectional (from the brain to the device) and does not include sensory feedback (the information the brain receives from the fingers), which can make it difficult or limited to control more complex interfaces.

However, “the future is hopeful and we must be prepared to be able to use these new technologies to improve the quality of life” of these patients, says Fernández, also director of the Biomedical Neuroengineering group of the Biomedical Research Network Center for Bioengineering, Biomaterials. and Nanomedicine.