Abstract
Brain-Computer Interfaces are a burgeoning area of research promising to restore lost neurological function to individuals who have lost it from injury or disease. The past two decades of research has focused on individuals’ ability to modulate sensorimotor data from the motor cortex of the brain. As such, individuals living with paralysis are prominent potential beneficiaries of brain-computer interfaces which could improve independence, which could significantly ease personal, societal, and financial burdens arising from the injury. Despite progress, these systems have largely been confined to the clinical setting, limiting the field’s understanding of how these systems might work in the community. Seeking to address this, we implanted a device capable of recording brain data into an individual with spinal cord injury. We then developed a system that the subject could take home and control using the implanted device. Over the next 4 years, we measured system performance and quality. We found that the subject was able to reliably control a mechanical glove as an assistive device used to complete everyday tasks with 87% median accuracy using signals collected from the implant. The simplicity of the form factor was suitable for the home environment. This work demonstrates that simple control measures detected from data recorded from the brain could allow individuals with paralysis to easily control external devices in a home setting and improve independence.