Paired Associative Stimulation Using Brain-Computer Interfaces for Stroke Rehabilitation: A Pilot Study

Eur J Transl Myol. 2016 Jun 6;26(3):6132. doi: 10.4081/ejtm.2016.6132. eCollection 2016 Jun 13.

Abstract

Conventional therapies do not provide paralyzed patients with closed-loop sensorimotor integration for motor rehabilitation. Paired associative stimulation (PAS) uses brain-computer interface (BCI) technology to monitor patients' movement imagery in real-time, and utilizes the information to control functional electrical stimulation (FES) and bar feedback for complete sensorimotor closed loop. To realize this approach, we introduce the recoveriX system, a hardware and software platform for PAS. After 10 sessions of recoveriX training, one stroke patient partially regained control of dorsiflexion in her paretic wrist. A controlled group study is planned with a new version of the recoveriX system, which will use a new FES system and an avatar instead of bar feedback.

Keywords: brain-computer interfaces; paired associative stimulation; stroke rehabilitation.