A Personalized and Adaptable User Interface for a Speech and Cursor Brain-Computer Interface

TL;DR

This paper presents a personalized, adaptable user interface for intracortical brain-computer interfaces, enabling individuals with paralysis to communicate and interact independently through a 22-month longitudinal study.

Contribution

It introduces a novel personalized UI for BCI systems, developed through iterative co-design for sustained daily use by individuals with severe paralysis.

Findings

Personalization and adaptability increased user independence.

The UI evolved to meet changing user needs over 22 months.

Design implications for future BCI assistive technologies.

Abstract

Communication and computer interaction are important for autonomy in modern life. Unfortunately, these capabilities can be limited or inaccessible for the millions of people living with paralysis. While implantable brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) show promise for restoring these capabilities, little has been explored on designing BCI user interfaces (UIs) for sustained daily use. Here, we present a personalized UI for an intracortical BCI system that enables users with severe paralysis to communicate and interact with their computers independently. Through a 22-month longitudinal deployment with one participant, we used iterative co-design to develop a system for everyday at-home use and documented how it evolved to meet changing needs. Our findings highlight how personalization and adaptability enabled independence in daily life and provide design implications for developing future BCI assistive technologies.