With an brain computer interface Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) People who couldn’t speak or move.
Using off-the-shelf implants and newly designed software, patients with advanced stages of Lugeric’s disease who couldn’t move their eyes demanded goo rush, beer, and music from band tools to researchers and I was able to interact with the caregiver. , Thanks to the researchers who developed the technology, and invited their 4-year-old son to a Disney movie.
Researchers note for the first time that this study shows that patients in a completely confined state (CLIS) are able to communicate and provide hope for a better quality of life for this population. I am.
“We should encourage people to live after artificial breathing and seek a brain-computer interface before becoming CLIS,” said Dr. Niels Bilbaumer, an emeritus professor at the University of Tubingen in Tubingen, Germany. .. Medscape Medical News..
The research is Published online March 22 Nature Communications..
The findings look promising, but they are based on a previous survey that was the subject of a 2019 survey by Germany’s largest grant agency. This controversy urged the institute that led the current research to appoint an independent expert to audit and monitor new research.
Mechanism “mystery”
In recent years, the use of Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology, which enables communication for ALS patients, has increased. BCI captures brain signals and sends them to your computer for conversion into commands that your computer executes.
Previous studies have shown that patients with ALS who maintain eye movement and control were able to communicate using BCI. However, until now, this technique has not worked well in CLIS patients with general paralysis.
In 2019, researchers in Germany and Switzerland transplanted two 64 microdo arrays into the brain of a 34-year-old patient diagnosed with ALS in 2015.
Electrodes measure neural activity and an amplifier outside the patient’s skull amplifies the signal to the computer. The software created by the research team decodes the signal and converts it into a command.
Using an auditory feedback system, patients could use their minds to modulate pitch to treble (meaning “yes”) or bass (meaning “no”). Said.
The Speller program reads aloud, first in groups and then individually. If the group contained the letters that the patient needed to spell the word, he used auditory feedback to select the treble.
Initially, the patient was able to spell his name correctly. In the end, he was able to form a complete sentence. Patients spelled the word correctly in 44 of the 107 days at that stage of the experiment, averaging one letter per minute.
Still, researchers say he was able to interact with caretakers, family members, researchers, and even provide information about changes to make the device more effective.
Controversial history
In 2017, the lead authors of this current study, Birbaumer and Ujwal Chaudhary, PhD, PLOS Biology.. As reported at that time Medscape Medical NewsThe study analyzed brain monitoring techniques that scientists claimed to have allowed patients with ALS who were completely trapped to answer yes or no questions correctly.
A whistleblower at the University of Tubingen urged an investigation by the German Research Foundation (DFG), as Karls University was a senior professor and Chaudary was a postdoctoral fellow.
Whistleblowers 2017 paper And the second study Published in 2019 It contained incomplete data and misrepresented the findings. A DFG investigation found evidence of scientific misconduct, and Billbaumer had to return the grant he received for his research. The agency also banned Birbaumer from applying for grants or serving as a peer reviewer for grants for five years. Chaudhary has been banned for three years. PLOS Biology I later withdrew the document.
Both researchers reportedly refuted the allegations and sued the German Research Foundation.
“There is no information on the status of the proceedings against DFG. It is still in dispute,” Birbaumer said. Medscape Medical News.. “The 2017 survey wasn’t very careful enough, so I hope they’ll investigate our current survey.”
Result “surprisingly not good”
Controversial history has prompted the Wyss Center in Geneva, Switzerland, to lead this new study to find an independent BCI expert to audit and monitor the study.
Dr. Nick Ramsey, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Brain Center of the Utrecht University Medical Center in the Netherlands, agreed to take on the task in March 2020.
Ramsey is also conducting a study on BCI in ALS patients, but his study does not include CLIS patients.
“I have determined that this study adheres to a universal standard of scientific integrity,” Ramsey said. Medscape Medical News.. “We are confident that the data and results presented in this treatise are valid and can withstand academic and medical scrutiny.”
“The findings aren’t surprisingly good because users can only communicate for a limited number of days and still take a considerable amount of time,” Ramsey said in a comment on the new findings. However, he added that this study provides proof of the principle that communication is possible in CLIS patients.
“The question remains whether BCI implants continue to function well in these patients. People with such conditions may lose their mental capacity within months or years as a result of their illness and therefore can no longer be produced. I want to tell you that there are some signs that you have sex. “
Response to the query from Medscape Medical NewsSpokesman Nature Communications Although he refused to comment on the new study, the journal editor said, “We will pay attention to the disputes within each discipline and when considering submission during the peer review process.”
“We have a strict policy to protect the integrity of the research we publish, including ensuring that research is conducted in accordance with high ethical standards and reported transparently. “The spokesman continued.
This study was funded by the Wyss Center for Bioand Neuroengineering and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft in Geneva. The author does not disclose the relevant financial relationship. Ramsey was paid by the Wis Center for his advisory role in this project.
Nature Communications.. Published online on March 22, 2022. Full text
