Brain Computer Interface Market

The growth of the global brain computer interface market is expected to be driven by the increasing use of electro-encephalography in the diagnosis of sleep disorders and increasing number of brain disorder patients across the globe. Moreover, increasing applications of sensors in healthcare sector are also driving the market growth. However, technical shortcomings of BCI technology are anticipated to restrain the market. In contrast, high-performance communication for people with paralysis and providing better smart home control system are likely to create lucrative opportunities.

Electro-Encephalography (EEG) has been in use for diagnosis and medical investigation of brain disorders such as seizures, tumors, strokes, and dementia. EEG is widely used to detect abnormalities in the brain waves or the electrical activity of the brain. In recent years, EEG is being used for the diagnosis of sleep disorders such as narcolepsy and insomnia. EEG is also used by doctors as a part of a sleep study or polysomnography. EEG systems consist of electrodes made of small metal discs that are attached to the scalp of the patient. These electrodes are used to detect tiny electrical charges produced from the activity of the brain cells through computers. EEG systems are non-invasive in nature as there is no requirement for implanting EEG electrodes inside human skulls. These systems are deemed safe to use even for children. Thus, this promotes greater usage of EEGs and greater acceptance amongst the patient pool.

EEG systems offer doctors a clearer picture of a patient’s sleep patterns by detecting different brain activities corresponding to different stages of sleep. These systems enable doctors to pinpoint an external factor that is preventing a patient from getting deep sleep, thereby helping doctors isolate the cause of sleep disorders in patients and formulate treatment plans. There has been a rise in the adoption of EEG systems across the globe for treatment of sleep disorders, which is expected to drive market growth during the forecast period.

People with different types of paralysis, including tetraplegia and anarthria, not only have problems such as moving around but also find it difficult to use today’s communication technologies, including computers and smartphones. Disorders such as strokes, neurological injuries, or diseases such as ALS can lead to severe paralysis among patients, which can make communication difficult. In extremely rare cases these disorders can lead to a condition called locked-in syndrome, which completely impairs the person for moving or speaking. Brain computer interfaces offer an ideal solution to restore communication by harnessing intact neural signals in such cases. Many BCI systems including invasive BCIs such as intracortical BCIs as well non-invasive BCIs such as EEGs have been developed to enable individuals with paralysis communicate. However, invasive brain computer interface technology has not yet reached a level of performance that would support widespread adoption by people with motor impairments. Currently, BCIs are being developed to perform communication tasks such as point-and-click control of a computer cursor for typing communication texts via computer screens. As technology progresses, the efficiency of BCI based communication in paralyzed individuals is expected to increase. The increasing development of BCI based communication systems for people with paralysis presents a significant opportunity for the growth of the brain computer interface market.

These EEG caps are highly expensive to warrant any type of mainstream use such as gaming accessories. Moreover, these caps require the use of conductive gel, careful positioning of electrodes, and clean-up after use, which makes the setting up EEG systems time-consuming. The BCI equipment currently available based technologies such as fMRI and MRI offer close to zero portability. Even EEG caps wired connection to the equipment, and those that are wireless require the subject to carry a computer that can weigh around 10 pounds. However, research has been conducted in gaming-based EEG caps which have been able to offer improved portability. Currently available independent BCI systems have an information transfer rate of as high as 100 bits/min, which roughly translates to around 8 words/min of communication through visual keyboards for paralyzed individuals. Although this information transfer rate is significantly beneficial to paralyzed individuals for communication, it still is very low when it comes to dealing with mainstream communication tasks for applications such as gaming, home automation, or motorized control. Furthermore, the signal measured by non-invasive BCI such as EEGs is weak and prone to interference. Several reports have also found that around 15–30% of individuals are inherently not able to produce brain signals robust enough to operate a BCI. These technical shortcomings of the BCI technology are expected to hamper the growth of the brain computer interface market during the forecast period.