January 10, 2023
1 minute read
Source/Disclosure
Disclosure:
Mitchell reports receiving institutional research support from Stryker Neurovascular and Medtronic, outside of submitted research. See research for relevant financial disclosures of all other authors.
Intravascular access to the sensorimotor cortex was shown to be a successful alternative for placing a brain-computer interface in or on the dura compared to open brain surgery, the researchers said. reported JAMA Neurology.
“Brain-computer interface (BCI) implants have traditionally required a craniotomy to deliver penetrating or surface electrodes to the brain.” Peter Mitchell, MMed, Written by University of Melbourne, Australia and colleagues. “It is unclear whether a minimally invasive endovascular technique for delivering recording electrodes into the superior sagittal sinus via the jugular vein is safe and feasible.”
Intravascular access to the sensorimotor cortex has been shown to be a successful alternative for placing intradural or epidural brain-computer interfaces by open brain surgery. Source: Adobe Stock
Mitchell and colleagues sought to assess the safety of intravascular BCI and the feasibility of using this system to control a computer through thought. They conducted a single-center, prospective, first-in-human study of five patients with severe bilateral upper extremity paralysis (four with ALS and one with primary lateral sclerosis). bottom.
The researchers wrote that the recording device was delivered via a catheter and connected to a subcutaneous electronic unit. These devices communicated wirelessly with external devices for PC control.
Four patients (all male; mean age, 61 years) were included in the analysis and transplanted. Each patient completed 12 months of follow-up without serious adverse events, vessel occlusion or device migration.
The mean signal bandwidth was 233 Hz and remained stable throughout the study in all four patients. At least five of her attempted motion types were decoded offline, and each patient successfully controlled a computer using implants.
“These final safety and feasibility data from the first human study demonstrate that it is possible to record neural signals from blood vessels,” Mitchell and colleagues write. “The favorable safety profile may facilitate broader and more rapid translation of BCIs into people with paralysis.”
