Brain–Computer Interfaces - Index of

378 B.Z. Allison
Table 2 Examples of future BCI user groups
BCI user groups Type of disability
Failing(s) of other interfaces or
substitutes
ALS, injury, stroke Severe motor All require the user to move
Injury, stroke, CP, MS, Less severe motor Cost, bandwidth, usability, flexibility,
some diseases
fatigue
Persons seeking Stroke, ADD, autism, Cannot affect behaviour or repair
rehabilitation Psychiatric other? damaged brain as well
People who may not Situational, or none Hands/voice unavailable, busy, too
have any disability
difficult, undesirably overt, too
mundane, or provide inadequate
bandwidth
the total number of severely disabled patients will grow, the proportion of them to
other end users will eventually greatly diminish because there will be so many other
end users.
Future BCI users will also differ critically from modern BCI users in another
key way: a BCI expert will not be needed to identify or purchase the necessary
hardware or software, get the system working, configure it to individual users, etc.
This group is currently the least numerous BCI user group, and will become the
dominant group.
Table 2 summarizes potential future BCI user groups. Some disabilities are
repeated in the table because the severity or nature of the disorder, and the user’s
goals, could substantially affect the type of BCI they use and why.
Severe motor disability for communication: These people use BCIs because
they cannot otherwise communicate.
Less severe motor disability for communication: These people might be able
to communicate with other tools, but prefer a BCI. This group will become
more prevalent as BCIs become faster, easier, or otherwise better than other
assistive technologies.
Rehabilitation: Persons with motor or other disabilities might rely on BCIs to
help alleviate their symptoms, either temporarily or permanently. A related
group might include healthy people who use BCIs for other Brain Effects
that might induce personal wellness, relaxation, or other improvements to
their cognitive or emotive states.
Healthy users: Please see our article titled “Why use a BCI if you’re healthy?”
for more details [55]. Briefly, a major reason is “situational disability.”
Healthy people are often in situations that prevent them from using their
hands or voices to communicate. A driver, soldier, mechanic, astronaut, or
surgeon may need to use his hands for his work, and might be unable to speak
effectively because of background noise or because he must remain silent.
Similarly, these or other users might want a BCI to supplement existing communication
mechanisms. A driver or surgeon might not want to interrupt a