Eight-year-old Giselle Alnaser wants the Elmo stuffed toy sitting on a stool across the room, and sheB次元官网网址檚 going to use her brain waves to get it.

As her mother encourages her with calls of, B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 go, letB次元官网网址檚 go, letB次元官网网址檚 go!B次元官网网址� Giselle concentrates asthe platform beneath her wheelchair appears to roll by itself toward Elmo. She smiles when she reaches the stool and an occupational therapist hands her the toy.

Giselle was diagnosed with a CAMK2b gene mutation when she was a toddler. It affects her brainB次元官网网址檚 ability to communicate with her muscles B次元官网网址� meaning she canB次元官网网址檛 walk or move her arms much B次元官网网址� and sheB次元官网网址檚 not able to speak.

The Brain Computer Interface program at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto develops technology that allows Giselle and dozens of other physically disabled children to use their minds to move and play.

B次元官网网址�(These are) children who are not able to move themselves in space, (who) donB次元官网网址檛 have reliable movement and donB次元官网网址檛 have verbal communication or have difficulty with verbal communication. So really their only way of interacting with the environment is through their thoughts,B次元官网网址� said Susannah Van Damme, an occupational therapist and team lead for the hospitalB次元官网网址檚 clinical BCI program.

The brain computer interface works like an on-off switch triggered by electrical patterns in the brain. While wearing a headset with EEG electrodes, the child is asked to think about something specific that will serve as a B次元官网网址渃ommandB次元官网网址� thought. The child is then asked to relax and put their mind in a quiet, passive state, which serves as the B次元官网网址渟topB次元官网网址� thought.

The electrodes transmit those electrical signals to a computer, where they are saved. The computer is trained through artificial intelligence to recognize those specific brain patterns when it sees them again and start or stop whatever device itB次元官网网址檚 connected to B次元官网网址� such as GiselleB次元官网网址檚 rolling wheelchair platform.

B次元官网网址淎s long as an individual can generate activity in the brain you can kind of flick the switch and control the activity,B次元官网网址� said Tom Chau, senior scientist and head of Holland BloorviewB次元官网网址檚 Paediatric Rehabilitation Intelligent Systems Multidisciplinary lab.

Giselle generates a B次元官网网址渃ommandB次元官网网址� thought bythinking about moving fast in her wheelchair, or focusing on the phrase B次元官网网址済o, go, go.B次元官网网址�

But any thought will do. The key is for the child to concentrate on it while the computer records the electrical brain pattern it creates.

Then when the child wants to make something happen, they think the same thought again, generating the same brain pattern that the computer now recognizes.

B次元官网网址�(When a child) sends that B次元官网网址済oB次元官网网址� signal, the computer interprets that just as a command to start, to activate whatever it is that itB次元官网网址檚 attached to,B次元官网网址� Van Damme said.

For another activity, the team attaches the computer to a bubble maker. The same command thoughts that allow Giselle to move her wheelchair now allow her to make bubbles appear.

In agame of B次元官网网址渇reeze,B次元官网网址� the computer is programmed to play music when she thinks her command thought. As the Barney dance song plays, Giselle turns the music on and off as her mom and hospital staff dance around her. When she stops the music to make them freeze in position, Giselle smiles with delight.

B次元官网网址淪omeone who has not been able to turn on their favourite music or play a video game because of a physical disability, they can use their brain power to do that,B次元官网网址� Van Damme said.

GiselleB次元官网网址檚 parents, Samah Darwish and Naser Alnaser, said watching their daughter use BCI technology has been B次元官网网址渁mazing.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淟ike any parent, you want some independence for the kids to do their own things B次元官网网址� to move, to play, to learn and everything,B次元官网网址� said Alnaser.

B次元官网网址淭o be herself. To be a kid.B次元官网网址�

Although BCI research has occurredin various parts of the world for decades, a Canadian network comprised of Holland Bloorview, Alberta ChildrenB次元官网网址檚 Hospital in Calgary and Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton has taken the lead in recent years in bringing the technology to children and youth with disabilities.

B次元官网网址淥ne thing that we noticed as a group of clinicians who see children and their families was that although those BCI technologies are rapidly advancing, the pediatric population were really neglected,B次元官网网址� said Dr. John Andersen, a University of Alberta associate professor of pediatrics who leads the BCI program at Glenrose.

B次元官网网址淲e wanted to see how we can make this accessible to children and learn from them and their families to kind of co-develop how this emerging technology can be accessible in its current form and how we can develop the technology and expertise around it in the future,B次元官网网址� said Andersen, noting that Chau at Holland Bloorview has been the trailblazer for the group.

Although the on-off switch activities help children and youth with neuromotor disabilities gain more control in their lives, the researchers say developing BCI technology to help non-verbal children communicate is the next major step B次元官网网址� and a priority requested by their parents.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e been doing research in communication for, you know, two decades now. But weB次元官网网址檙e finally getting it to the point where youB次元官网网址檙e going to be able to translate it,B次元官网网址� said Chau.

The hope is that in the near future, children will be able to use BCI to convey wants and needs using their minds, he said.

B次元官网网址�(That would) really unlock huge potential for kids whoB次元官网网址檝e been basically trapped in their own bodies,B次元官网网址� Chau said.

B次元官网网址淭hey have so much that they want to express. And thereB次元官网网址檚 just never been the means.B次元官网网址�