Brain communication in a completely locked-in patient using bedside near-infrared spectroscopy.

Gallegos-Ayala, Guillermo; Furdea, Adrian; Takano, Kouji; Ruf, Carolin A; Flor, Herta; Birbaumer, Niels · Neurology · 2014

case_report · Level V

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Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) can result in the locked-in state (LIS), characterized by paralysis, and eventual respiratory failure, compensated by artificial ventilation,<sup>1</sup> or the completely LIS (CLIS), with additional total paralysis of eye muscles. Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) have been used to allow paralyzed people to regain basic communication,<sup>2</sup> although current EEG-based BCIs have not succeeded with CLIS patients.<sup>3</sup> We present Class IV case evidence to establish that communication in the CLIS is possible with a metabolic BCI based on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

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