Brain-computer interface

A brain-computer interface (BCI), sometimes called a direct neural interface or a brain-machine interface, is a direct communication pathway between a human or animal brain (or brain cell culture) and an external device. In one-way BCIs, computers either accept commands from the brain or send signals to it (for example, to restore vision) but not both.[1] Two-way BCIs would allow brains and external devices to exchange information in both directions but have yet to be successfully implanted in animals or humans.

Project Overview

The long-term objective of this research is to create a multi-position, brain-controlled switch that is activated by signals measured directly from an individual’s brain. We believe that such a switch will allow an individual with a severe disability to have effective control of devices such as assistive appliances, computers, and neural prostheses in natural environments. This type of direct-brain interface would increase an individual’s independence, leading to a dramatically improved quality of life and reduce social costs.

Financial Support

This project has been made possible by support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Grant 90278-96, the Rick Hansen Neurotramuma Initiative, Grant 99031, and by the Government of British Columbia’s Information, Science and Technology Agency.

Progress

Prior to Sept. 1999, the BCI research team had developed a single-position, brain-controlled switch that responds to specific patterns detected in spatiotemporal electroencephalograms (EEG) measured from the human scalp. We refer to our initial design as the Low-Frequency Asynchronous Switch Design (LF-ASD) [2]. Our initial evaluations of the LF-ASD had demonstrated that it was capable of detecting actual motor potentials in able-bodied subjects. This provided the necessary ground for advancing towards the next stage of the research, which was to test the system’s ability in detecting imagined motor potentials in able-bodied individuals (our control population) and individuals with spinal-cord injuries.