Stroke Rehabilitation using BCI Technology

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States as well as the leading cause of long-term disability. Each year about 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke in the United States. One of the common morbidities of stroke involves impairment of upper limb motor function with one-third of patients having residual deficits. There is a need to identify an intervention method that will restore motor function, reduce functional dependence and improve the quality of life in these patients. This proposal investigates a novel technology that adopts an active intervention approach, non-invasive and aims to facilitate recovery after brain injury by restoring brain function while improving corresponding motor function. The technology allows for an active rehabilitation approach in which brain activity, inferred by EEG-based (electroencephalograph) Brain Computer Interface (BCI) system, is linked to functional electrical stimulation (FES) of the muscles to replace or assist function that is lost in stroke patients.