USC’s Sook-Lei Liew is using VR to help motor-impaired stroke patients promote brain plasticity. The goal is to train them to move their limbs again. Her REINVENT study uses BCI to control an avatar. Electrical signatures of brain activity are meaured with EEG, and muscle activity with EMG. When signals in brain or muscle activity that correspond to an attempted move are detected, a virtual arm moves. Visual feedback through a VR headset is thought to help strengthen neural pathways from the damaged motor cortex to the impaired arm or limb. The process was more effective when combined with neurofeedback.
Join ApplySci at Wearable Tech + Digital Health + Neurotech Silicon Valley on February 26-27, 2018 at Stanford University, featuring: Vinod Khosla – Justin Sanchez – Brian Otis – Bryan Johnson – Zhenan Bao – Nathan Intrator – Carla Pugh – Jamshid Ghajar – Mark Kendall – Robert Greenberg