For the first time, researchers have documented the use of a brain-computer interface (BCI) to allow a person with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to interact with his treatment team and loved ones while being completely paralytic and known as “locked in.”
Contact efforts made within the first 3 months post-implant placement were failed for a variety of reasons. Using an auditory sound frequency modification as a stimulus, the individual was enabled to respond with a “yes” or “no” response during his first day and mastered during less than 2 weeks after starting treatment. Afterward, scientists were enabled to assist the patient in spelling phrases by having him react “yes” or “no” to characters. His 1st statement was a need to his care staff to readjust his body, which was followed by a series of further requests.
Finally, after some time of adopting this strategy, the individual was finally able to tell the German scientists that, while he could no longer move his eyes, he could influence the tone by focusing on how his eyes would have formerly functioned.
His “speller sessions” were only successful on 107 out of 135 days reported in the research, and he only achieved an 80 % correctness rate. On just 44 of these 107 days, was he capable of finishing coherent phrases, which was a significant improvement.
Researchers believe this is the first time somebody completely “locked in” as the participant has been able to converse with another person using a brain-computer link. It enabled the individual to communicate with his relatives long after they had anticipated total silence — and thus to express his desire to sip a beer whilst listening to heavy metal music, which his family appreciated.
The study was published in Nature Communications.
