Design and evaluation of a tangible and haptic BCI for upper limb rehabilitation after stroke – GRASP-IT

Stroke is the leading cause of acquired disability in adults. The GRASP-IT project aims to recover upper limb control improving the kinesthetic motor imagery (KMI) generation of post-stroke patients using a tangible and haptic interface within a gamified Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) training environment. (i) This innovative KMI-based BCI will integrate complementary modalities of interactions such as tangible and haptic interactions in a 3D printable flexible orthosis. We propose to design and test usability (including efficacy towards the stimulation of the motor cortex) and acceptability of this multimodal BCI. (ii) The GRASP-IT project proposes to design and integrate a gamified non-immersive virtual environment to interact with. This multimodal solution should provide a more meaningful, engaging and compelling stroke rehabilitation training program based on KMI production.  (iii) In the end, the project will integrate and evaluate neurofeedbacks, within the gamified multimodal BCI in an ambitious clinical evaluation with 75 hemiplegic patients in 3 different rehabilitation centers in France. From the design to the development and evaluation of the interaction techniques, Tthis work integrates the specificities of patient-users in their diversity (age, nature of the motor disability, sensory, cognitive). from the design to the development of the interaction techniqTo succeed, this 4-years project has been conceived in three complementary and interconnected work packages. The project will include design and validation of preliminary studies in specific clinical centers and a final evaluation by a multicenter clinical protocol. This project relies on a first functional prototype already developed by consortium members. To address the research questions and technological challenges, work coupling neuroscience with Human-Computer Interactions (HCI) and Instructional Design (ID) issues is an innovative and important approach to the public health challenge of stroke rehabilitation. GRASP-IT project will take advantages of the leading interdisciplinary consortium combining expertise from 4 research teams of 2 research institutions (Université de Lorraine, Inria) and 3 centers or hospital department for physical medicine and rehabilitation, leaders in their domains, all complementary and essential to reach the project goals. The GRASP-IT project represents a challenge for the industrial 3D printing field. The materials of the 3D printable orthosis, allowing the haptic-tangible interfaces integration, will come from a joint R & D work performed by the companies Alchimies and Open Edge. Beyond the benefits from a scientific point of view, the expected impacts of the GRASP-IT project can be envisioned from i) a technological point of view, through the production of innovative prototypes that can be patented and transferred to the industry; ii) a societal point of view by improving the potentialities of functional rehabilitation. This project is an improvement of the Grasp-IT project selected at the first position in the complementary list by this committee last year.This project builds on the Grasp-IT project selected at the first position in the complementary list by this committee last year, plus the constructive feedback obtained and first results of preliminary studies currently underway.