Background
NCAN’s origins go back 45 years to interest in CNS plasticity produced by its interactions with the environment. Because we needed high-speed real-time technology to study these interactions, we developed software that led to the first version of BCI2000, NCAN’s general-purpose real-time software platform now used by labs everywhere (Schalk et al. 2004; Schalk and Mellinger 2010). It has supported the studies in 2,500 peer-reviewed articles. BCI2000 enabled us to make scientific advances, leading to further studies that faced new barriers requiring new technology.
Our work evolved into an ongoing program of interactions between technology development and animal and human research that has been continuously supported for 40 years by NIH and other agencies. It produces the science and technology to create new therapies for restoring function lost to the neurological disorders affecting tens of millions in the U.S. and hundreds of millions throughout the world.
References
Schalk, G., McFarland, D. J., Hinterberger, T., Birbaumer, N., and Wolpaw, J. R., (2004). BCI2000: a general-purpose brain-computer interface (BCI) system. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 51(6):1034–1043.
Schalk, G. and Mellinger, J., (2010). A Practical Guide to Brain-Computer Interfacing with BCI2000. Springer, London, UK, 1st edition. ISBN 978-1-84996-091-5.