Qualitative assessment of patients' attitudes and expectations toward BCIs and implications for future technology development
- PMID: 25964745
- PMCID: PMC4410612
- DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2015.00064
Qualitative assessment of patients' attitudes and expectations toward BCIs and implications for future technology development
Abstract
Brain-computer-interfaces (BCIs) are important for the next generation of neuro-prosthesis innovations. Only few pilot projects have tested patients' abilities to control BCIs as well as their satisfaction with the offered technologies. On the one hand, little is known about patients' moral attitudes toward the benefit-risk-ratio of BCIs as well as their needs, priorities, and expectations. On the other hand, ethics experts intensively discuss the general risks of BCIs as well as the limits of neuro-enhancement. To our knowledge, we present here the first qualitative interview study with ten chronic patients matching the potential user categories for motor and communication BCIs to assess their practical and moral attitudes toward this technology. The interviews reveal practical and moral attitudes toward motor BCIs that can impact future technology development. We discuss our empirical findings on patients' perspectives and compare them to neuroscientists' and ethicists' perspectives. Our analysis indicates only partial overlap between the potential users' and the experts' assessments of BCI-technology. It points out the importance of considering the needs and desires of the targeted patient group. Based on our findings, we suggest a multi-fold approach to the development of clinical BCIs, rooted in the participatory technology-development. We conclude that clinical BCI development needs to be explored in a disease-related and culturally sensitive way.
Keywords: acceptance; brain–computer interface (BCI); empowerment; ethics; interviews; medical risk; patient attitude; privacy.
Similar articles
-
Review on brain-computer interface technologies in healthcare.Biophys Rev. 2023 Sep 14;15(5):1351-1358. doi: 10.1007/s12551-023-01138-6. eCollection 2023 Oct. Biophys Rev. 2023. PMID: 37974976 Review.
-
Human visual skills for brain-computer interface use: a tutorial.Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol. 2020 Oct;15(7):799-809. doi: 10.1080/17483107.2020.1754929. Epub 2020 Jun 1. Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol. 2020. PMID: 32476516 Free PMC article. Review.
-
What is it like to use a BCI? - insights from an interview study with brain-computer interface users.BMC Med Ethics. 2020 Jan 6;21(1):2. doi: 10.1186/s12910-019-0442-2. BMC Med Ethics. 2020. PMID: 31906947 Free PMC article.
-
EEG-Based Brain-Computer Interfaces.Adv Exp Med Biol. 2019;1101:41-65. doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-2050-7_2. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2019. PMID: 31729671 Review.
-
Using brain-computer interfaces: a scoping review of studies employing social research methods.BMC Med Ethics. 2019 Mar 7;20(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s12910-019-0354-1. BMC Med Ethics. 2019. PMID: 30845952 Free PMC article.
Cited by
-
Patients' perspectives on digital health tools.PEC Innov. 2023 May 26;2:100171. doi: 10.1016/j.pecinn.2023.100171. eCollection 2023 Dec. PEC Innov. 2023. PMID: 37384154 Free PMC article.
-
Towards aSmart Bionic Eye: AI-powered artificial vision for the treatment of incurable blindness.J Neural Eng. 2022 Dec 7;19(6):10.1088/1741-2552/aca69d. doi: 10.1088/1741-2552/aca69d. J Neural Eng. 2022. PMID: 36541463 Free PMC article.
-
Ethical issues raised by incorporating personalized language models into brain-computer interface communication technologies: a qualitative study of individuals with neurological disease.Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol. 2024 Apr;19(3):1041-1051. doi: 10.1080/17483107.2022.2146217. Epub 2022 Nov 20. Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol. 2024. PMID: 36403143
-
Public attitudes towards neurotechnology: Findings from two experiments concerning Brain Stimulation Devices (BSDs) and Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs).PLoS One. 2022 Nov 9;17(11):e0275454. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275454. eCollection 2022. PLoS One. 2022. PMID: 36350815 Free PMC article.
-
A Comprehensive Review of Endogenous EEG-Based BCIs for Dynamic Device Control.Sensors (Basel). 2022 Aug 3;22(15):5802. doi: 10.3390/s22155802. Sensors (Basel). 2022. PMID: 35957360 Free PMC article. Review.
References
-
- Anderson J. (2008). “Neuro-Prosthetic, the extended mind and respect for persons with disability,” in The Contingent Nature of Life. Bioethics and Limits of Human Existence, eds Düwell M., Rehmann-Sutter C., Mieth D. (Dordrecht: Springer; ), 259–275.
-
- Beck U. (2000). “Risk society revisited. Theory, politics and research programmes,” in The Risk Society and Beyond, eds Adam B., Beck U., Van Loost J. (London: Sage; ), 211–229.
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources