Kids with movement and communication challenges use new brain-computer interface

One of the world’s first commercially available brain-computer interface (BCI) products allows children with physical movement and communication challenges to interact with their environment using only their thoughts.A product of startup Possibility Neurotechnologies of Calgary, the technology uses a Muse EEG headset that collects brain signals and a Think2Switch app available on Apple’s App Store that wirelessly receives and interprets them.Once calibrated, the app can be used by children to control lights, TVs and appliances in the home through an integration with Apple Smart Home. Children can also use a computer to play games, scroll through a news site or listen to music on Spotify.For interacting with a computer, Think2Switch connects via Bluetooth and functions as a standard keyboard. With the up and down arrow keys showing on the Think2Switch app, a user is able to navigate through a web page. This allows Think2Switch to work with any device or application that accepts keyboard input.Though developed for children, the technology can also be used by adults and can be life changing for anyone with cerebral palsy, ALS, spinal-muscular atrophy, stroke or spinal cord injuries, said Possibility Neurotechnologies CEO Dion Kelly, who developed Think2Switch with Dr. Adam Kirton, a pediatric neurologist. Though only officially launched April 13, Think2Switch is already being used by 150 families worldwide despite hardly any marketing, said Kelly. “Families are online searching for solutions for their children and in these tight-knit communities, when something works, it spreads like wildfire. That’s how we achieved this organic growth.”Parents, teachers or caregivers can calibrate the technology by teaching it what a user’s brain signals look like when they want to control something. “We recommend choosing a one syllable word like ‘go,’ then using that one thought to control something,” explained Kelly.To interact with Smart Home devices in someone’s living room, for example, a page in the app may depict a series of icons for a light fixture, a TV and a thermostat. The app cycles through the options lingering on each one for three seconds, allowing users time to think “go” to control the one they want.Ten-year-old Claire Sonnenberg, of Okotoks, Alberta, has been experimenting with BCI technology since the age of three with the research team at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. “Claire has been with us every step of the way, starting with the big, bulky system in our lab and a cap that had wires all over it, but during COVID,” recalled Kelly, “we couldn’t bring families into the hospital, so we had to figure out how to continue to provide access to the technology. That’s what catalyzed Think2Switch because we had to make it as simple as possible for families to set up and use independently at home.”Claire loves cooking and baking and is able to use a blender to make smoothies. “Her little brothers will pour the ingredients into the blender, and she will mix it all up,” said Kelly. She also uses a stand mixer with attachments to make pasta and slice up cucumbers to participate in her family’s tradition of pickling.Click here to watch a short YouTube video of Claire using Think2Switch.Claire even served as marshal for a Canada Day parade using the Think2Switch app with icons she can select to steer her ride-on toy Jeep. A small external hardware interface is used to connect to the vehicle’s control system and the Think2Swich app communicates with it via Bluetooth. In school, she can participate in an art project by choosing colours on the Think2Switch app.BCI technology has been around for more than 50 years and there has been a lot of work done using implantable technology more recently, but what’s different about Think2Switch is how accessible and how usable it is, said Kelly. Implantable BCI products like Neuralink and Blackrock Neurotech require surgery and are still not ready for commercialization.Think2Switch can be downloaded from the Apple App Store. Use of the app for the first month is free. Thereafter, a monthly subscription fee applies.

Kids with movement and communication challenges use new brain-computer interface

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