Neurological Evaluation to Enable Development with Brain-Computer Interfaces (NEED-BCI): A comprehensive tool for clinicians and scientists

Background: Pediatric brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are an emerging technology that allow children with severe physical abilities and intact cognition to interact with their environment. BCI awareness among clinicians caring for disabled persons is poor. The Neurological Evaluation to Enable Development with Brain-Computer Interfaces (NEED-BCI) was created as a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary tool to facilitate evaluation of children with severe disabilities for consideration of BCI. We aim to provide a systematic approach to this evaluation and a foundation to facilitate the broad consideration and uptake of BCI for children. Objectives: 1) Develop a comprehensive, multidisciplinary tool, the NEED-BCI, to evaluate a child’s potential for BCI. 2) Incorporate end-user clinical details to examine the feasibility and usability of the NEED-BCI, ensuring all data fields are obtainable via multidisciplinary assessment. Methods: This pilot study developed the NEED-BCI using expert collaboration, standardized scales, and patient engagement. The NEED-BCI will be retrospectively applied to prospectively-collected participant data. Data from nine participants enrolled in the BCI4kids program at the Alberta Children’s Hospital will be used to assess the feasibility of the tool, with collection by a multidisciplinary team of physicians, therapists, and BCI scientists. Potential impact: This study will evaluate the feasibility of the NEED-BCI, a comprehensive tool that allows all information pertaining to the BCI candidate to be easily accessible, and highlight the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration in neurorehabilitation. This tool would promote BCI awareness by relevant clinicians and characterization of eligible patient populations for which BCI could enhance their independence and quality of life.
Keywords: Brain-computer interfaces, pediatric rehabilitation, cerebral palsy