Prosthetic limbs controlled by brain-computer interface can restore functional movement to people with quadriplegia

The prosthesis controlled by the brain-computer interface can restore the functional movement of the quadriplegic
.

However, visual feedback is limited, because information about grasping objects is best delivered through tactile feedback

Here, researchers such as Jennifer L.
Collinger & Robert A.
Gaunt from the University of Pittsburgh in the United States supplement vision with tactile perception, use a two-way brain-computer interface to record the neural activity of the motor cortex, and through the cortex to the microscopic The stimulus produces a tactile sensation
.

Related papers were published on Science with the title "A brain-computer interface that evokes tactile sensations improves robotic arm control"

There are approximately 169,000 people in the United States suffering from quadriplegia due to spinal cord injury (SCI)
.

Among patients with cervical spinal cord injury, nearly half want to improve arm and hand function, rather than all other rehabilitation priorities

Researchers have previously developed a BCI-controlled robotic arm that can perform grasping and stretching exercises in up to 10 consecutive and simultaneously controlled size ranges
.

This high-dimensional continuous control enables participants to complete clinical assessments of upper limb function, such as the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT)

For amputees, neuroprosthetics to restore some somatosensory nerves are becoming more and more common
.

However, these peripheral stimulation methods cannot be applied to patients with quadriplegia; stimulation below the injury level cannot transmit information to the somatosensory cortex for processing and perception

Here, the researchers demonstrated a two-way brain-computer interface that evokes tactile perception (Figure 1A and B), which greatly improves the performance of functional tasks
.

These artificial tactile perceptions are driven in real time by sensors on the robot hand.

　　

　　Figure 1 Overview of the two-way BCI system
.

　　

　　Figure 2 The impact of ICMS on ARAT performance
.

　　

　　Figure 3 The impact of ICMS on object transmission performance
.

　　In summary, ICMS-induced tactile perception improves task performance to a level that has never been observed before, and reduces the time of touching and grasping in a manner similar to the role of natural tactile sensation in the process of grasping state transition.
And it doesn't seem to be the result of practice
.

This kind of artificial touch has greatly improved the performance of the brain-computer interface, which shows that those design methods that simulate known sensorimotor circuits (though not perfect at present) will have a significant impact on the future performance of the brain-computer interface