Demonstration of a stable chronic electrocorticography-based brain-computer interface using a deep brain stimulator

Chronic electrocorticography (ECoG) studies will be necessary to understand how end-users of assistive brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies will control their devices on a long-term scale. A BCI platform consisting of a deep brain stimulator (DBS) and a cortical electrode strip, theoretically suitable for use over multi-year periods, is validated in a single human subject with essential tremor (ET). At the time of this writing, stable ECoG recordings have been demonstrated for four months after implantation. Additionally, the patient has performed a BCI cursor-control task with better-than-chance accuracy using both (1) an overt movement control scheme and (2) a motor imagery control scheme. These results validate the sensing-enabled DBS with cortical strip system as an exciting platform for chronic ECoG BCI experiments and as a scientific tool for long-term cortical recordings in different patient populations.