Expert consensus on the clinical application of non-invasive brain-computer interfaces in neurorehabilitation

Non-invasive brain-computer interfaces (BCI) have advantages such as high safety, ease of operation, and low cost. Closed-loop rehabilitation models based on non-invasive BCI have demonstrated promising application potential in motor function rehabilitation after stroke, as well as in the assessment and rehabilitation of disorders of consciousness. However, current non-invasive BCI still encounter challenges in clinical rehabilitation practice for neurological diseases, such as the absence of uniform technical standards, incomplete operational protocols, and ambiguous indications and contraindications, which restrict their clinical translation and application. This study aims to formulate a unified expert consensus on non-invasive BCI, to guide clinicians and researchers in standardizing its therapeutic protocols and defining its scope of application. This expert consensus mainly describes the consensus development methodology, the clinical rehabilitation applications of non-invasive BCI, and recommendations for clinical practice and key quality management points, including indications and contraindications, clinical implementation procedures and quality control, safety monitoring and adverse event management, as well as ethics, privacy, and data security. The consensus focuses on standardizing the specific application modalities, reference stimulation parameters, assessment indicators, recommendations, implementation details, evidence support, and clinical operational considerations for non-invasive BCI in the rehabilitation of post-stroke motor dysfunction, disorders of consciousness, speech and language disorders, cognitive impairment, and other neurological diseases,, with the goal of promoting the application and development of non-invasive BCI in clinical rehabilitation practice in China.