Kinney-Lang Eli, Kelly Dion, Floreani Erica D, Jadavji Zeanna, Rowley Danette, Zewdie Ephrem Takele, Anaraki Javad R, Bahari Hosein, Beckers Kim, Castelane Karen, Crawford Lindsey, House Sarah, Rauh Chelsea A, Michaud Amber, Mussi Matheus, Silver Jessica, Tuck Corinne, Adams Kim, Andersen John, Chau Tom, Kirton Adam
Department of Pediatrics and Clinical Neurosciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Cumming School of Medicine, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2020 Dec 3;14:593883. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.593883. eCollection 2020.
Thousands of youth suffering from acquired brain injury or other early-life neurological disease live, mature, and learn with only limited communication and interaction with their world. Such cognitively capable children are ideal candidates for brain-computer interfaces (BCI). While BCI systems are rapidly evolving, a fundamental gap exists between technological innovators and the patients and families who stand to benefit. Forays into translating BCI systems to children in recent years have revealed that kids can learn to operate simple BCI with proficiency akin to adults. BCI could bring significant boons to the lives of many children with severe physical impairment, supporting their complex physical and social needs. However, children have been neglected in BCI research and a collaborative BCI research community is required to unite and push pediatric BCI development forward. To this end, the pediatric BCI Canada collaborative network (BCI-CAN) was formed, under a unified goal to cooperatively drive forward pediatric BCI innovation and impact. This article reflects on the topics and discussions raised in the foundational BCI-CAN meeting held in Toronto, ON, Canada in November 2019 and suggests the next steps required to see BCI impact the lives of children with severe neurological disease and their families.
成千上万患有后天性脑损伤或其他早期神经疾病的年轻人，在与外界交流互动有限的情况下生活、成长和学习。这类认知能力正常的儿童是脑机接口（BCI）的理想适用对象。尽管BCI系统正在迅速发展，但技术创新者与有望从中受益的患者及家庭之间仍存在根本差距。近年来将BCI系统应用于儿童的尝试表明，孩子们能够学会熟练操作简单的BCI，其熟练程度与成年人相近。BCI可以给许多严重身体残疾的儿童的生活带来巨大益处，满足他们复杂的身体和社交需求。然而，儿童在BCI研究中一直被忽视，需要一个合作性的BCI研究社区来团结起来推动儿科BCI的发展。为此，加拿大儿科BCI合作网络（BCI-CAN）成立了，其统一目标是合作推动儿科BCI的创新和影响力。本文回顾了2019年11月在加拿大多伦多举行的BCI-CAN基础会议上提出的主题和讨论内容，并提出了让BCI影响患有严重神经疾病的儿童及其家庭生活所需的下一步措施。
