Abstract
Neuroprosthetics that combine a brain computer interface (BCI) with functional electrical stimulation (FES) can restore voluntary control of a patients’ own paralyzed limbs. To date, human studies have demonstrated an “all-or-none” type of control for a fixed number of pre-determined states, like hand-open and hand-closed. To be practical for everyday use, a BCI-FES system should enable smooth control of limb movements through a continuum of states and generate situationally appropriate, graded muscle contractions. Crucially, this functionality will allow users of BCI-FES neuroprosthetics to manipulate objects of different sizes and weights without dropping or crushing them. In this study, we present the first evidence that using a BCI-FES system, a human with tetraplegia can regain volitional, graded control of muscle contraction in his paralyzed limb. In addition, we show the critical ability of the system to generalize beyond training states and accurately generate wrist flexion states that are intermediate to training levels. These innovations provide the groundwork for enabling enhanced and more natural fine motor control of paralyzed limbs by BCI-FES neuroprosthetics.
Highlights
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the leading causes of paralysis worldwide
In addition to providing insights into the relationship between cortical neuronal activity and muscle contraction during voluntary hand movements, our results demonstrate an important advancement of neuroprosthetic technology that can help people suffering from paralysis regain the voluntary and smooth graded control of muscle activation that is necessary for dexterous manipulation of delicate objects
We have shown that neurons in M1 carry information that can be reliably decoded to allow a human with tetraplegia to regain volitional control of graded muscle contraction with the use of our brain computer interface (BCI)-functional electrical stimulation (FES) system
Summary
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the leading causes of paralysis worldwide. in most SCI cases, even though the signal pathways between the brain and the limbs might be disrupted, both the motor cortex and the limb muscles that it controls remain intact. More recent work has shown that signals recorded from the brain can be used to directly activate paralyzed muscles via functional electrical stimulation (FES)[5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. Intracortical recordings from primates have provided ample evidence that neurons in the primary motor cortex (M1) carry information related to graded muscle activation and force exertion[13,14,15], and these signals have even been used to predict electromyography activity (EMG) and control electrical stimulation of primate arm muscles[5,6,7, 11, 16]. In addition to providing insights into the relationship between cortical neuronal activity and muscle contraction during voluntary hand movements, our results demonstrate an important advancement of neuroprosthetic technology that can help people suffering from paralysis regain the voluntary and smooth graded control of muscle activation that is necessary for dexterous manipulation of delicate objects
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