Brain-Computer Interface Enables Quadriplegic Man to Feed Himself

A new study published in Frontiers in Neurorobotics demonstrates how a brain-computer interface enabled a quadriplegic man to feed himself for the first time in three decades by operating two robotic arms using his thoughts. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), also known as brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) are neurotechnology powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that enables those with speech or motor challenges to live more independently. "This demonstration of bimanual robotic system control via a BMI in collaboration with intelligent robot behavior has major implications for restoring complex movement behaviors for those living with sensorimotor deficits," wrote the authors of the study. This study was led by principal investigator Pablo A. Celnik, M.D., of Johns Hopkins Medicine, as part of a clinical trial with an approved Food and Drug Administration Investigational Device Exemption. A partially paralyzed quadriplegic 49-year-old man living with a spinal cord injury for around 30 years prior to the study was implanted with six Blackrock Neurotech NeuroPort electrode arrays in the motor and somatosensory cortices in both the left and right brain to record his neural activity.