Two papers published by Nature on March 23 report the new Brain-Computer Interface device that not only decodes brain activity into language but also is faster, more accurate, and covers more vocabulary than all current technologies. This achievement demonstrates technological advances in helping to restore communication skills in severely paralyzed people.
The Brain-Computer Interface device, developed by a team at Stanford University, collects the neural activity of individual cells through an array of fine electrodes inserted into the brain and trains artificial neural networks to decode what patients want to say. With the help of the device, a patient with ALS can communicate at a rate of 62 words per minute, 3.4 times faster than a previous similar device, and closer to a natural conversation (about 160 words per minute). The device has an error rate of 9.1% with a vocabulary of 50 words, as low as about 1 / 3 lower than the previous state-of-the-art language BCI device. Using 12500 vocabularies, the error rate was 23.8%, and the team thought this could be the first study to successfully demonstrate large vocabulary decoding.
In another study, the team at the University of California, San Francisco, developed a Brain-Computer Interface device based on acquiring brain activity in different methods. Its electrodes cover the surface of the brain and detect the activity of many cells, converting brain signals into three forms of output simultaneously: text, speech, and controlling an avatar. A deep learning model was trained to decode neural data from a patient who was severely paralyzed by a brainstem stroke, and the patient silently spoke sentences as the data were collected. The median translation rate from brain signal to text was 78 words per minute (error rate, 25%); the error rate, was 28.2% for 372 vocabularies, and the lower the error rate.
The device also translated neural activity into facial expressions, presented as an animated avatar. In conclusion, this multi-modal BCI device provides more possibilities for paralyzed patients to communicate more naturally and more effectively.
The latest BCI device will help severely paralyzed people regain their communication skills in the future. As early as 50 years ago, Jacques Vidal, a computer scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, imagined for the first time that the electrodes placed on the scalp and used to control the computer.
The development of BCI
Brain-computer interface technology has been attracting attention around the world since its inception. BCI technology sets the human brain as a “terminal”, connects external devices, and then enables the brain and the device to establish direct communication and realize the two-way flow of information. Generally speaking, human beings control the machine with their ideas.
BCI can extract signals directly from the brain to control external devices to replace, restore, supplement, or improve the function of the brain. With BCI technology, tetraplegic people can stand and walk again, ALS people can type with “ideas,” and ordinary people can use brain waves to return to emails…
Years ago, Musk favored BCI technology, saying it has great potential to improve the human-computer interaction experience and help people treat certain neurological diseases. In 2016, he funded the establishment of a Neuralink company to promote the research and commercialization of BCI technology.
At the time, Musk’s wild ideas were always unrealistic, and the idea of using BCI to change the world didn’t get much reaction. But in subsequent years, Neuralink released major research results periodically: in 2019, Neuralink introduced its first invasive BCI device, and in 2021, Neuralink showed electrodes implanted in the brains of monkeys.
Not long ago, Musk’s tenth visit to China attracted much attention. Neuralink In the field of BCI once again broke the “big action” to let the industry shock. Neuralink announced that its first human clinical trial had been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and that almost every Neuralink presentation was extremely shocking.
The BCI technology in China is developing rapidly
Domestically, with the approval of Neuralink BCI for human clinical trials, many people are concerned about the development of BCI technology in China and when China will enter the stage of human clinical trials.
China has already started the relevant research and exploration in the field of human brain engineering. According to the Financial News Agency, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will take BCI as an important direction to cultivate future industrial development, strengthen the exploration of BCI application scenarios, and accelerate the vigorous development of the BCI industry.
The chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology introduced that, first, to enhance the innovation ability of the BCI industry; second, to improve the industrial ecology of BCI; and third, to consolidate the industrial foundation of BCI.
BCI equipment in China is developing rapidly and goes hand in hand with the international level. In terms of BCI data sets, China has a large publicly available data set, which is of great significance to promote the application of BCI.
In addition, relevant enterprises will strengthen the exploration of BCI application scenarios and accelerate the vigorous development of the BCI industry, which will show a strong innovation driving force and huge development potential.
WiMi Hologram Cloud several new BCI scientific research achievements were released
It is understood that after the Nasdaq listed domestic technology unicorn enterprise WiMi Hologram Cloud (NASDAQ: WIMI) long adhered to the goal orientation and technology exploration strategy, basic research investment continued to increase, the original innovation ability, in quantum information, holographic communication, brain chip frontier direction made a batch of major original achievements. In addition, WiMi Hologram Cloud continues to strengthen the strategic “new track” layout, human-computer interaction, BCI, and other frontier fields to keep pace with the advanced level advantage, strategic high technology shows strength, firmly occupying the commanding heights of science and technology, with solid science and technology infrastructure built and play an important role.
According to public information, WiMi Hologram Cloud has won several patents in the field of BCI, which is expected to be applied to the meta-universe, human-computer interaction, and other fields. In detail, the patent for the protective structure developed by WiMi Hologram Cloud can reduce the risk of damage caused by the collision between the holographic BCI and the inner wall of the two half-spherical shalf-sphericalarrying. The holographic BCI device patent and the holographic brain-controlled robot system can facilitate the brain-computer equipment to quickly adjust the tilt Angle of the wiring socket, improve the connection accuracy, and reduce the risk of impact damage to the top to meet the use needs.
Notable is that, with the deepening of neuroscience research and the rapid development of big data, and AI technology, the WiMi Hologram Cloud research and development center of the scientific research team continues around BCI, rehabilitation technology, artificial intelligence, and other fields of research results, the research successfully explore a based on EEG-fNIRS multi-modal data fusion BCI technology, to improve the EEG-fNIRS multi-modal data performance and accuracy of the fusion. It is reported that WiMi Hologram Cloud has developed Brain-Computer Interface(BCI) technology based on EEG-fNIRS multi-modal data fusion, which will provide strong technical support for the research and application of brain science, geoengineering, clinical medicine, and other fields.
To sum up
BCI was once at the forefront of the storm, attracting many people’s attention. The development of BCI needs to strengthen the cooperation of “government, industry, learning, research and medicine” and strengthen talent training, neurosurgery should become the main force of clinical translational research of BCI. When reviewing relevant studies, based on the continuous breakthrough of BCI products and technologies of different carrier forms, we can see that WiMi Hologram Cloud BCI technology is developing rapidly and is entering public life and becoming a reality. In short, BCI is certainly an indispensable means for the future, and there is no one to replace it yet.
