2026· MATEC Web of Conferences· Vol 424, pp. 02020· 0 citations· 4 references
TL;DR
The paper first examines major ethical issues of neuro-privacy and stigma, then reviews the progress of miniaturization, bidirectional interaction, and society acceptance, and puts forth a clear and compelling argument on strengthening the ethics and regulation regimes of BCI to facilitate its fair and beneficial use.
Abstract
Since neurotechnology advances have made brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) stars, they have also brought unprecedented opportunities for medical rehabilitation, industrial human-machine collaboration, and cognitive enhancement, but have also produced very real and very important ethical issues. Hence, this paper reviews the applications of BCIs in medical rehabilitation and industry and their advantages in accessibility and productivity. This paper reviews the current BCI medical rehabilitation and industry applications, and their advantages in accessibility and productivity. The paper first examines major ethical issues of neuro-privacy and stigma, then reviews the progress of miniaturization, bidirectional interaction, and society acceptance, and on that basis puts forth a clear and compelling argument on strengthening the ethics and regulation regimes of BCI to facilitate its fair and beneficial use. It also gives an accessible introduction to BCI for general readers.
The study stresses the necessity of embedding relational autonomy and neural rights into BCI development, tying technological trajectories to governance demands in order to shape responsible paths for future neurotechnologies.
Yuzhang Wu· Theoretical and Natural Scie...· 0 citations
The available evidence suggests that continued multidisciplinary collaboration and technological innovation will facilitate the progressive integration of BCIs into routine neurosurgical care, supporting personalized therapeutic strategies aimed at improving functional recovery, communication, and quality of life in patients with complex neurological disorders.
Alejandra Mendoza Ortiz, Marco Antonio, Ortiz Ayala et al.· International science journa...· 0 citations
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have achieved transformative success in restoring movement and communication. However, extending these approaches to decoding or recovery of cognitive function, such as attention or memory, poses fundamentally new challenges. Cognitive BCIs will need to contend with distributed and dynamic neural processes that differ sharply from the more localized, stable representations underlying motor and language control, imposing new technical and conceptual demands. Conversely, neuromodulation, long used in neurological and psychiatric therapies, offers a complementary methodological path and initial translational applications through causal modulation of cognitive circuits. Integrating these approaches into adaptive, closed-loop systems could allow cognitive BCIs to restore mental function and bridge systems neuroscience and next-generation neurotherapeutics capable of monitoring and shaping human cognition in real time.
Ignacio Saez· Trends in Cognitive Sciences· 0 citations
Research on Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) has reached a stage where the limited experimental work needs to be translated into real-world, practical applications. Wireless technology is one of the most crucial methods to implement the translation. This review systematically examines the core technologies enabling fully implantable wireless BMIs, with a focus on the fundamental design challenge: the trilemma involving data rate, power consumption, and device size. The paper outlines the essential system architecture, including neural signal acquisition, processing, wireless transmission, and power supply modules. It provides a comparative analysis of wireless transmission methods, such as radio frequency, optical, and ultrasonic communications. The study evaluates their bandwidth, tissue penetration, and efficiency. Furthermore, implant powering strategies are contrasted, weighing the limitations of batteries against the potential of wireless energy transfer. The review highlights transformative applications in neuro-prosthetics and neuroscience research, illustrated through notable experimental and clinical demonstrations. Ultimately, it identifies persistent challenges related to long-term bio-integration and scalability, indicating future directions for developing more robust, intelligent, and clinically adaptive wireless BMI systems.
Chang-Shuo Hu· International Journal of Bio...· 0 citations
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) offer significant therapeutic opportunities for a variety of neurophysiological and neuropsychiatric disorders and may perhaps one day lead to augmenting the cognition and decision-making of the healthy brain. However, existing regulatory frameworks designed for implantable medical devices (IMDs) are inadequate to address the unique ethical, legal, and social risks associated with next-generation networked brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). In this article, we make nine recommendations to support developers in the design of BCIs and nine recommendations to support policymakers in the application of BCIs, drawing insights from the regulatory history of IMDs and principles from AI ethics. We begin by outlining the historical development of IMDs and the regulatory milestones that have shaped their oversight. Next, we compare the unique characteristics of IMDs (including early-generation implantable BCIs) and emerging, “next-generation” implantable BCIs. We then use one case study in contemporary chip architecture—the SCALO (SCalable Architecture for LOw-power BCIs) computer system—to highlight distinctive features in the design and application of next-generation BCIs arising from these technologies, which necessitate reevaluating regulatory approaches. We identify critical ethical considerations for next-gen implantable BCIs, including unique conceptions of autonomy, identity, and mental privacy. Based on these insights, we suggest potential avenues for the ethical regulation of next-gen implantable BCIs, emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and proactive mitigation of potential harms. The goal is to support the responsible design and application of emerging BCIs, ensuring their safe and ethical integration into medical practice.
Renée A Sirbu, Jessica Morley, Tyler Schroder et al.· Neuroethics· 3 citations· ⚡1
Analysis of BCI rehabilitation technologies shows that each paradigm has its own advantages for different patient groups, and future research directions including intelligent adaptive optimization, hybrid system integration, remote rehabilitation, unified evaluation criteria and large-scale clinical trials can help the clinical translation of BCI rehabilitation technologies.
Lujin Lyu· Theoretical and Natural Scie...· 0 citations