International Conference “Frontiers Spotlight: Limitless! Augmentation of Brain Function”

Megagrant #14.641.31.0000. Lead scientist: Mikhail Lebedev.
Alex Ossadtchi and Mikhail Lebedev presented their research at Frontiers Spotlight conference held on September 19-21 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Alex Ossadtchi made a presentation “Restoring locomotor function with an EEG-controlled exoskeleton”.

Thought-controlled exoskeleton will cure locomotor disorders.  

Exoskeletons like Exoatlet are efficient for restoring the locomotor function lost as a result of a spinal cord injury. However, these devices can be improved through the use of EEG. In such a set-up, an EEG-based brain-computer interface is used to initiate and control an exoskeleton’s movements, which helps promote neural plasticity and ultimately restore locomotion.

Mikhail Lebedev made a presentation “BCI for walk decoding”

Invasive interfaces hold tremendous promise for the future.  

 

BCIs provide a communication channel between the nervous system and an external device, such as a mechanical prosthesis or exoskeleton. As was shown in monkeys, these interfaces can recreate walking patterns by decoding neural activity recorded from invasive multichannel electrode arrays placed on the cortex. Although invasive BCIs provide unrivaled signal quality for neural prostheses used in restoring lower limb function, many challenges have yet to be overcome before these devices become practical.

 

This work was funded by Megagrant #14.641.31.0003 of the Government of the Russian Federation to support research conducted in Russian institutions of higher education, research organizations and state research centers under the Subprogram of Institutional Development of the Research Sector (State Program "Developing Science and Technology" in 2013-2020). Lead scientist: Mikhail Lebedev.