Niels Birbaumer
Austrian academic
Niels Birbaumer (born 11 May 1945) is an Austrian academic who served as a professor at the University of Tübingen until 2019. [1] [2] [3]
Research career
In 2017, Birbaumer's study claimed that a brain-computer interface (BCI) device, applied via an electrode cap, enabled four ALS patients to communicate binary responses. [4] [5] This drew considerable attention due to its implications for quality of life. [4] However, the study's replicability was questioned, leading to a German Research Foundation (DFG) investigation, which found the research data incomplete and the results flawed. [4] As a result, Birbaumer's work was retracted, his funding revoked, and he was dismissed from the university. [4] [6] He relocated to Italy. [4]
Despite the controversy, Birbaumer and his colleague Chaudhary received public support from several scientists. [4] Notably, the BCI technology, which was first demonstrated successfully in a tetraplegic patient in 2006, was applied in Birbaumer's research to a patient without any voluntary muscle control for the first time. [4]
The BCI was implanted in 2019 into the brain of a 34-year-old man with locked-in syndrome. After several trials, researchers decoded "yes" or "no" signals into sentences. [4] The study, which spanned 462 days, was meticulously documented. [4] Seward Rutkove, Chair of Neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , affirmed the BCI's efficacy but questioned its practicality due to cost and limited applicability. [4]
In March 2022, Birbaumer published a new study in Nature Communications that builds on his prior work. [4] Birbaumer and Chaudhary also claimed to have won lawsuits supporting the integrity of their PLOS report, showcasing the use of a BCI in a patient devoid of voluntary muscle control. [4]
In April 2022, DFG and Birbaumer settled the legal dispute. [7]
References
- ↑ "Authors. Niels Birbaumer" . IEEE Xplore . Retrieved 21 June 2023 .
- ↑ "Untersuchungskommission stellt wissenschaftliches Fehlverhalten durch Tübinger Hirnforscher fest | University of Tübingen" . uni-tuebingen.de .
- ↑ "Prof Niels Birbaumer" . ABC Radio National .
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Keshavan, Meghana (22 March 2022). "With new 'brain-reading' research, a once-tarnished scientist seeks redemption" .
- ↑ "The Fall of Niels Birbaumer" . Discover Magazine .
- ↑ Abbott, Alison (21 September 2019). "Prominent German neuroscientist committed misconduct in 'brain-reading' research" . Nature . doi : 10.1038/d41586-019-02862-4 – via www.nature.com.
- ↑ "DFG and Niels Birbaumer Settle Legal Dispute" . www.dfg.de .