Electronics


peripheral nervous systems can be recorded and stimulated. The next phase of research will further refine the technology, preparing it for initial first- in-human studies. Spinal cord injuries at or above the C8 cervical vertebrae carry a high risk that the corresponding patient will become a quadriplegic, preventing the use of arms, hands, and the lower extremities. The French company STATICE is researching to restore mobility by reading thoughts and linking them to an exoskeleton using invasive – but long-term functional – implants. The results of a clinical trial were published in the The Lancet at the end of 2019, providing proof of concept for the control of an exoskeleton for quadriplegics. The


researchers used WIMAGINE neuroprostheses in the study. They consist of 64 electrodes and can be placed on the dura to record brain activity. The long-term functionality of the WIMAGINE implants was demonstrated by implantation in two patients with C5 spinal cord lesions. The next step will be to confirm this in additional patients. In addition, WIMAGINE is being used to bypass the damaged spinal cord so that the motor signals originating from the brain can be decoded and translated directly into impulses to the nerves. Thus, the damaged spinal cord can be bypassed wirelessly.


Going quantum


BCI systems can also be combined with non-invasive brain stimulation by means of an Electroencephalogram (EEG). Professor Soekadar’s research group at the Charité in Berlin is working on this. By combining these two technologies, neuroplastic processes can be better understood and influenced, allowing new and effective therapeutic methods to be developed. In this way, diseases of the CNS can be treated individually and with few side effects. The exoskeleton is controlled by means of an EEG and electrooculography. It has been shown that assistive and restorative BCI are effective clinical tools for regaining the ability to move. The major advantage of this non-invasive option is that it allows patients to remain mobile and leave the laboratory, but at the expense of resolution and frequency range. A possible further development of this system lies in the technology of quantum BCI, which uses quantum sensors. Due to a better contact between sensor and brain, a better sensitivity, selectivity and resolution can be achieved by using quantum sensors. In addition, the compactness can allow for better freedom of movement. The system should make it possible to control the complex movements of a robot or reconstruct language from neuromagnetic brain activity. Quantum sensors are thus the most promising technology to advance non-invasive BCI applications, but some technical challenges – magnetic shielding and thermal insulation among others – need to be overcome first.


80 Medical Device Developments / www.nsmedicaldevices.com


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