For any kind of communication you need some kind of movement: No matter whether we move our vocal chords and lips when speaking verbally, type with our fingers when writing or even let a pen glide over paper with precise movements, or express ourselves through our gestures and facial expressions with sign language.
So what do we do when a person is unable to move? Patients with so-called locked-in syndrome are conscious, but unable to move and thus unable to communicate. BCIs (interfaces between the brain and the computer) can provide new insights for evaluating the extent of perception and awareness. But is it possible to communicate with a BCI?
mindBEAGLE is based on BCI technology for quick and easy assessment of consciousness disorders and in some cases can even enable communication. Find more information about this project from g.tec here. Here you can see a success story of mindBEAGLE, where the daughter of an ALS patient was able to communicate with her mother again: youtube.com/watch?v=FTlznuUSH2I
