An Intro to Brain-Computer Interfaces
By: Sam Gold
Tags: Interfaces, Brain, Computers, Emerging Technology, Brain Computer Interface

Intro

The concept of Brain-Computer Interfaces, or BCIs for short, is super polarized. Most people either find themselves feeling intrigued about the possibility of a computer/brain hybrid, or they just want the tech companies to get out of their damn business. I mean, putting a computer in your mind could mean your brain could be hacked, which for most people is a super scary concept. While that may seem scary, imagine you walk into Starbucks to get your morning coffee or breakfast sandwich or whatever it is you buy in the morning, and you could pay for it just by thinking about it, with BCIs, this is the future. Now, before you make any rash decisions about which end of the spectrum you lie on, let’s dive a little deeper into what BCIs actually are, and why you should probably care.

Brain-Computer Interfaces are technologies that allow the brain and computers to interact, usually taking signals from all over the brain and using them to perform tasks, execute actions or respond directly. Right now, the three main types of Brain-Computer Interfaces are EEGs (electroencephalograms), ECOG (electrocorticography) and MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging). All three of these devices take signals from the brain and communicate them back to a computer for various uses.

EEGs

EEGs are the most common type of BCIs around today. In essence, an EEG is a cap you wear on your head that is covered in electrodes. The electrodes are then injected with an electrolyte gel that facilitates the measurement of brain activity. EEGs have their ups and their downs. The most notable upside to EEGs is the fact that they are non-invasive, they can measure brain activity at 1000 data points per second without any sort of surgery. They are cheap, instant and represent live brain activity. EEGs are great for things like helping people who are paralyzed use prosthetics and have helped people who have lost limbs be able to perform tasks they once thought impossible. Another bonus to EEGs is their very high temporal resolution, meaning the data refreshes instantly. While this may all seem like gumdrops and rainbows to some, there is a major downside to EEGs, and that is that they have terrible spatial resolution since they detect electrons firing simultaneously and are not designed to detect where in the brain the signal comes from, meaning they are less effective in treating things like epilepsy. Luckily, there is an alternative that was designed to do just that.

An image of a real life EEG

ECOG

ECOG is an invasive type of BCI, which just means you need surgery. An ECOG is a chip (implanted in the brain), that creates a map of the brain using electrodes, the map can then be used to localize seizures and other brain anomalies. An example of ECOG tech being used today is at the Neuropace labs, where the RNS system is being developed and tested. What the RNS system does is localizes a seizure hotspot, and delivers a silent, undetectable shock that neutralizes the seizure before it happens. The system consists of a battery pack (implanted in the skull) and electrodes that are placed anywhere in the brain. This tech has proven to be successful and could help tons of people in the future.

Diagram of how EEGs work versus ECoG

MRI

The final major type of BCI being used today is MRI. MRIs are not just BCIs (Brain-Computer Interfaces) but BCIs (Body-Computer Interfaces, a term I just coined right now). They create a strong magnetic field that forces the protons to align with it. When the magnetic field is broke, the protons realign and emit energy. Depending on how much energy is released and how fast it is, doctors can tell what type of tissue is there. MRIs are used in the treatment of many ailments, predominantly cancer.

An image from an MRI

Neuralink

Some future innovation in the BCI department comes from none other than your very own Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla and SpaceX has now delved into the business of keeping human evolution on course with computer evolution. His vision is to merge mind and machine with Neuralink, a thin mesh-like device that is implanted in the skull and theoretically, could enable the possibility of downloadable, real-life knowledge. A pretty common analogy is the scene from the matrix where Neo downloads Karate, with Neuralink, this could become a real possibility.

Conclusion

In summary, BCIs are the future of human potential, they have the power to enable the control of prosthetics and artificial limbs, making super soldiers a real, daunting possibility. Perhaps less menacing is the fact that they can be used to treat horrible, life taking conditions like epilepsy. In my opinion, BCIs are the future, uniting man with machine in history’s coolest wedding and making the impossible possible.