Non-invasive Digital Twin Controlled BCI-FES-VR Leg-Cycling Ergometer Intervention Recovers Sensorimotor Function in Individuals with Complete Spinal Cord Injury
摘要
Spinal cord injury (SCI) disrupts communication between high brain centers and the peripheral neuromusculoskeletal system, resulting in debilitating sensorimotor impairment, autonomic dysfunction, and musculoskeletal degeneration. To repair these concurrent deficits, we developed a multimodal rehabilitation system comprising a brain-computer interface (BCI), lower limbs functional electrical stimulation (FES), and virtual reality (VR) feedback. The apparatus, devised on a motorised semi-recumbent cycling ergometer, is controlled by a real-time digital twin of the user. Four individuals with chronic complete SCI have finished our year-1 study. While all participants gained discernible sensory, autonomic, muscular, and bone mineral density improvements, two of them additionally attained significant somatomotor benefits and recovered ability to voluntary contract previously paralysed muscles.