Neural interface lets paralyzed person steer virtual quadcopter, opening new doors for gaming

Researchers aim to tackle unmet needs for social connection and recreation

Scientists in the US have developed a neural interface that enables an individual with paralysis to control a virtual quadcopter by decoding brain activity into distinct finger movements.

Research from a University of Michigan team demonstrates how brain-computer interfaces can restore control over multiple finger groups and open new possibilities for interacting with digital environments, including applications like video games. This could potentially offer new opportunities for recreation and social connection among people with paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries.

More than 5 million people in the US live with severe motor impairments, according to research. Social and medical care can meet some of their basic needs and others, including peer support (79 percent), leisure activities (50 percent) and sports (63 percent), according to a survey of individuals with spinal cord injuries resulting in paralysis.

The team developed a brain-computer interface capable of recording electrical activity in targeted brain regions and translating it into complex finger movements. Matthew Willsey, University of Michigan assistant professor of neurosurgery and biomedical engineering, is the lead author of the paper.

Researchers implanted the device in the left precentral gyrus, which controls hand movement, of a person with upper and lower extremity paralysis. The system recorded the participant’s virtual hand movements and employed machine learning algorithms to pick out the signals linked to specific fingers. It identified and predicted movements in three highly distinct finger groups and achieved a level of movement precision not previously possible.

The recorded information describing finger positions was then used to control a virtual quadcopter, allowing the participant to use the brain-to-finger-to-computer interface to navigate around virtual fixed- and random-ringed obstacle courses.

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“The participant expressed or demonstrated a sense of enablement, recreation and social connectedness that addresses many of the unmet needs of people with paralysis,” said the research paper, published this week in Nature Medicine.

“The participant’s intuitive control was anecdotally described as being like playing a musical instrument and evoked a strong sense of enablement, recreation and socialization,” the researchers said.

The team suggested the system could be used to control video games and fulfil unmet needs of people with paralysis and other disabilities. The paper points to research showing 77 percent of gamers play socially in 2021, while participation in multiplayer video games has been linked to “social well-being and connectedness, provides a competitive outlet and fosters teamwork. These were precisely the themes communicated to us by our participant,” the research said.

The paper suggested that increasing the channel count of the recording system could enhance decoding accuracy, similar to advancements observed in speech decoding research. ®