Cortical control of a tablet computer by people with paralysis

Paul Nuyujukian, Jose Albites Sanabria, Jad Saab, Chethan Pandarinath, Beata Jarosiewicz, Christine H. Blabe, Brian Franco, Stephen T. Mernoff, Emad N. Eskandar, John D. Simeral, Leigh R. Hochberg, Krishna V. Shenoy, Jaimie M. Henderson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

101 Scopus citations

Abstract

General-purpose computers have become ubiquitous and important for everyday life, but they are difficult for people with paralysis to use. Specialized software and personalized input devices can improve access, but often provide only limited functionality. In this study, three research participants with tetraplegia who had multielectrode arrays implanted in motor cortex as part of the BrainGate2 clinical trial used an intracortical brain-computer interface (iBCI) to control an unmodified commercial tablet computer. Neural activity was decoded in real time as a point-and-click wireless Bluetooth mouse, allowing participants to use common and recreational applications (web browsing, email, chatting, playing music on a piano application, sending text messages, etc.). Two of the participants also used the iBCI to “chat” with each other in real time. This study demonstrates, for the first time, high-performance iBCI control of an unmodified, commercially available, general-purpose mobile computing device by people with tetraplegia.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0204566
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume13
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2018

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