BCI Device Used To Help Stroke Victims Communicate

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

A recent study shows technology can help ‘locked-in’ stroke patients communicate with the outside world.

A researcher at East Tennessee State University has demonstrated a brain-computer interface (BCI) can be effective in helping “locked-in” stroke patients communicate with the outside world, according to a release. Previous studies have shown that BCI can be effective in allowing advanced-stage ALS patients communicate after paralysis claims the body.

Dr. Eric Sellers, lead researcher in the study, said, “We have significant research showing that BCI is beneficial to ALS patients, but until now there were no studies that looked specifically at patients with a brainstem stroke to see if it worked for them as well.”

This recent study demonstrates BCI can record brain activity through small sensors attached to the scalp of the patient. The sensors are then used to detect the P300, which is “a positive spike in the brainwaves that occurs about 300 milliseconds after the brain has detected a meaningful stimulus.”

That P300 becomes a “virtual finger” on a typing device and patients are directed to focus on a specific “key” in a grid that represents a typical keyboard. The BCI rapidly flashes random letters and numbers, and the patient focuses on the one they wish to select. When the patient sees the appropriate letter, a P300 occurs, and the letters are transmitted to a computer screen that displays the patient’s message.

This technology does not come cheaply, however, with a price tag of about $10,000 a unit, according to Fox23 News. In addition, the device requires thorough training of medical personnel and family members who wish to use it with a patient.

Sellers feels the results of his study demonstrate the technology “can be a viable communication option when all other methods have failed, and it can also improve quality of life. It was clear that the family also benefited from the patient's ability to use the brain-computer interface.”

Sellers estimates that, although the exact number of victims of locked-in syndrome in the United States is unknown, the number may be in the tens of thousands. The condition may be caused by stroke, traumatic brain injuries, and other accidents.

Sellers’ research is detailed in Science Translational Medicine and outlines a 13-month study of a stroke patient with locked-in syndrome. According to the paper, the patient was able to manipulate the BCI device in 40 of 62 sessions, spelling words and initiating conversation with family. “Locked-in syndrome is associated with conditions other than ALS, and this study suggests that BCI may be useful regardless of the precipitating even that caused the condition,” Sellers asserts.