The achievement, developed by a team of scientists from the Swiss neuroengineering center Wyss Center and the University of Tübingen, has been achieved thanks to a system that directly connects the patient’s brain (a 34-year-old German in advanced stage of ALS) with a computer. To achieve this, the researchers implanted a constellation of microelectrodes in the patient’s brain and, from there, they studied how to decode brain signals.
After several months of testing, scientists ended up with a system that allows interpret whether the patient thinks ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and translate this signal to a screen. In parallel, they also developed a artificial intelligence program that shows the letters of the alphabet so that the patient can choose each one of the letters and, from there, form complete words and sentences. The system allows communication of about one character per minute but, despite its slowness, it has managed to restore the ability to communicate in a person who was no longer able to do so.
“This is a relevant scientific achievement, but there is still a long way to go to refine this technology and make it accessible to all patients”, comments Arnau Espinosa, a scientist at the Wyss Center and one of the experts who has led this work. “Scientifically we are facing an interesting advance, because we have been able to answer some questions about how the brain works and the areas that allow communication. But when we talk about this type of progress, we always have to go with very careful not to generate false hopes“, comments the scientist in an interview with EL PERIÓDICO. “That the system works in a patient is good news, but before considering it good we have to study and validate it in many patients. Nobody would get into a car that has only been tested once“, nuances the expert.
“This is a relevant scientific achievement, but there is still a long way to go to make it accessible to all patients”
Arnau Espinosa, scientist
brain study
Beyond the case of the patient who is the protagonist of this news, the scientists argue that this work supposes a step forward in the study of the brain. “We have been able to answer the big question of whether people who have lost all voluntary muscle control, including eye or mouth movement, also lose the brain’s ability to generate commands for communication“, comments the neuroscientist Jonas Zimmermann, of the Wyss Center. According to the study carried out with this patient, even people who have been totally immobilized continue to have an ability (and need) to communicate.
“One of the great brain debates poses what happens when a patient is totally immobilized and loses the ability to speak. If you no longer use the areas of the brain responsible for communication, are they still active? Or are they lost over time? According to what we have been able to observe in this case, the cognitive capacity is not lost immediately and, although the person cannot move, still has the cognitive ability to understand what is going on around himSpinoza says.
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Josep M. TormosDirector of Research at the Institut Guttmann and an independent expert questioned by this newspaper, defines the results of this study as a step forward in research of the interfaces that connect brain and computer. “It is important to note that even people with an advanced degenerative process still have the ability and need to communicate. And this conclusion, which is reflected in this study, should make us intensify our efforts to develop this type of technology even more”, comments the scientist.
“You have to be optimistic with scientific advances, but also realistic to explain how far they can go”
Speaking of the future of these tools, Espinosa is optimistic when pointing out that more and more effort (and money) is being invested in this study area. “More and more effort is devoted to the development of this type of technology and much progress is being made in this field. But many small achievements are needed to make these tools a reality”, comments the expert. “We must be optimistic with scientific advances, but also realistic to explain how far they can go“, ditch the scientist.