WHAT WE DO
At the department of Neurology and Neurosurgery of the UMC Utrecht Brain Center we are fascinated by the brain and how it produces our everyday actions, most specifically how the brain controls movement. Through our research, we try to create a dictionary with which we can interpret the brain. Using this dictionary, we can detect which movements the brain is generating and use this to control a Brain-Computer Interface to restore communication individuals with severe paralysis.
We use small and compacted High-Density ECoG grids placed under the skull to record brain activity at a millimeter scale. This allows us to study the brain in high detail, which is crucial to unravel how the brain controls hand movement and perceives and produces speech. Furthermore, we develop cutting-edge tools to streamline high-density ECoG signal acquisition, processing and interpretation.
High-density ECoG recordings are performed either during brain awake surgery or during Epilepsy monitoring period at the UMC Utrecht.
Research Topics
Phonemes
Decoding four spoken phonemes using high-density ECoG grids
Vowels
Identification of speech, articulators and facial movements signatures in the sensorimotor cortex
Speech Perception
Detection and identification of perceived speech in sensorimotor cortex
Facial Expressions
Classification of four facial expressions from sensorimotor cortex
Tongue
Detailed organization of tongue movements in the ventral sensorimotor cortex
Articulators
Decoding articulator movements from the sensorimotor cortex
GridLoc
Unsupervised localization method for high-density ECoG grids implanted intraoperatively
ALICE
Automatic localization of intracranial electrodes using post-operative CT images
Gestures
Detecting four sign language gestures from the brain signal
