Ultrasound Offers Hope for Less-Invasive BCIs

Image credit: Caltech University 

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) offer a promising solution for re-enabling movement through thought-controlled devices for those with paralysis, however current technology typically necessitates a surgically-implanted device to understand what is happening in the brain.

Now, in a breakthrough touted as a “completely new modality” for BCIs, researchers have discovered a novel way to decode brain activity using functional ultrasound (fUS) – a far less invasive approach than conventional, surgically-implanted devices.

Published last month in Nature Neuroscience, the study saw a team from Caltech University demonstrate the feasibility of fUS as a basis for a BCI which can quickly predict a person’s movement via decoders programmed with machine learning.

Researchers used fUS technology on non-human primates to track neural activity within the posterior parietal cortex, an area of the brain associated with body movement.

“Functional ultrasound is a completely new modality to add to the toolbox of brain-machine interfaces that can assist people with paralysis,” said study co-author, Professor Richard Andersen in a story from Caltech University.

“It offers attractive options of being less invasive than brain implants and does not require constant recalibration.”

Check out the below video for a presentation from Professor Andersen explaining the process further:

See the full story via Caltech University for further information, or view the research paper in Nature Neuroscience.