On the effectiveness of integration of a rehabilitation device based on a neurointerface and neurostimulation of the spinal cord in the rehabilitation of patients with impaired upper limb movement due to neurological disorders

Abstract

Millions of people around the world suffer from disorders caused by injuries and diseases of the brain and spinal cord. The combination of brain-computer interfaces and neuromodulation technologies is a new approach that could revolutionize the treatment of these disorders. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of a technique in which a patient with a spinal cord injury first undergoes spinal cord stimulation and then participates in a rehabilitation session using a brain-computer interface based on the P300 principle, which decodes visual-motor transformation and uses an assistive robot that moves the patient’s arm, and virtual reality. All healthy participants of the study were able to combine these two techniques without any undesirable effects; studies on patients with spinal cord injury are ongoing. System integration of the two methods has been already performed, and in the future, upon completion of this work, the neural interface will be able to control the stimulation parameters. We propose such integrated systems as a new approach to neurorehabilitation. Key words: brain-computer interface, neuromodulation, spinal cord stimulation, spinal cord trauma, P300, visuomotor transformation.