BCI-FES: could a new rehabilitation device hold fresh promise for stroke patients?

Abstract

It has been known that stroke constitutes a major source of acquired disability, with nearly 800,000 new strokes each year in the USA alone. While advances in public and preventative health have helped reduce stroke incidence in high-income countries in recent decades, growth of the aging population, increasing stroke rates in low- to middle-income countries and medical advances that have reduced stroke mortality are all contributing to an increase in stroke survivors worldwide. Large numbers of stroke survivors have residual motor deficits. This editorial will provide an introduction to a class of new therapies being investigated with the aim of improving motor outcomes in stroke patients that uses what is known as brain–computer interface technology.

Keywords::

• brain–computer interface
• FES
• functional electrical stimulation
• stroke

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the NIH.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

There is one patent pending (Pending US Patent Application No. 12/715,090) on a closed-loop neurofeedback device that incorporates BCI-FES technology filed jointly by authors V Prabhakaran and J Williams.

This publication was made possible by the University of Wisconsin Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program, through the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), Grant UL1TR000427 KL2 Scholar and Pilot Awards (VP, JW) and TL1 Award (BY); Coulter Foundation Award, UW-Madison-Milwaukee Grant, American Heart Association Grant 1T32EB011434-01A1 (VP, JW); Foundation of ASNR, Shapiro Foundation, RC1MH090912-01 NIH, NIMH Challenge Grant and K23NS086852 NIH NINDS (VP); NIH/T32GM008692 Medical Scientist Training Program Grant (BY); DARPA RCI Program (MTO) N66001-12-C-4025; and HIST Program (MTO) N66001-11-1-4013, R01EB000856-06 and R01EB009103-01 (JW). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.