TY - JOUR
T1 - Brain-computer interface users speak Up
T2 - The virtual users' forum at the 2013 international brain-computer interface meeting
AU - Peters, Betts
AU - Bieker, Gregory
AU - Heckman, Susan M.
AU - Huggins, Jane E.
AU - Wolf, Catherine
AU - Zeitlin, Debra
AU - Fried-Oken, Melanie
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.
PY - 2015/3/1
Y1 - 2015/3/1
N2 - More than 300 researchers gathered at the 2013 International Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Meeting to discuss current practice and future goals for BCI research and development. The authors organized the Virtual Users' Forum at the meeting to provide the BCI community with feedback from users. We report on the Virtual Users' Forum, including initial results from ongoing research being conducted by 2 BCI groups. Online surveys and in-person interviews were used to solicit feedback from people with disabilities who are expert and novice BCI users. For the Virtual Users' Forum, their responses were organized into 4 major themes: current (non-BCI) communication methods, experiences with BCI research, challenges of current BCIs, and future BCI developments. Two authors with severe disabilities gave presentations during the Virtual Users' Forum, and their comments are integrated with the other results. While participants' hopes for BCIs of the future remain high, their comments about available systems mirror those made by consumers about conventional assistive technology. They reflect concerns about reliability (eg, typing accuracy/speed), utility (eg, applications and the desire for real-time interactions), ease of use (eg, portability and system setup), and support (eg, technical support and caregiver training). People with disabilities, as target users of BCI systems, can provide valuable feedback and input on the development of BCI as an assistive technology. To this end, participatory action research should be considered as a valuable methodology for future BCI research.
AB - More than 300 researchers gathered at the 2013 International Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Meeting to discuss current practice and future goals for BCI research and development. The authors organized the Virtual Users' Forum at the meeting to provide the BCI community with feedback from users. We report on the Virtual Users' Forum, including initial results from ongoing research being conducted by 2 BCI groups. Online surveys and in-person interviews were used to solicit feedback from people with disabilities who are expert and novice BCI users. For the Virtual Users' Forum, their responses were organized into 4 major themes: current (non-BCI) communication methods, experiences with BCI research, challenges of current BCIs, and future BCI developments. Two authors with severe disabilities gave presentations during the Virtual Users' Forum, and their comments are integrated with the other results. While participants' hopes for BCIs of the future remain high, their comments about available systems mirror those made by consumers about conventional assistive technology. They reflect concerns about reliability (eg, typing accuracy/speed), utility (eg, applications and the desire for real-time interactions), ease of use (eg, portability and system setup), and support (eg, technical support and caregiver training). People with disabilities, as target users of BCI systems, can provide valuable feedback and input on the development of BCI as an assistive technology. To this end, participatory action research should be considered as a valuable methodology for future BCI research.
KW - Brain-computer interfaces
KW - Communication aids for disabled
KW - Outcome assessment (health care)
KW - Rehabilitation
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U2 - 10.1016/j.apmr.2014.03.037
DO - 10.1016/j.apmr.2014.03.037
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 25721545
AN - SCOPUS:84923344147
SN - 0003-9993
VL - 96
SP - S33-S37
JO - Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
JF - Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
IS - 3
ER -