Eight-year-old Giselle Alnaser wants the Elmo stuffed toy sitting on a stool across the room, and she91裸聊视频檚 going to use her brain waves to get it.

As her mother encourages her with calls of, 91裸聊视频淟et91裸聊视频檚 go, let91裸聊视频檚 go, let91裸聊视频檚 go!91裸聊视频� Giselle concentrates asthe platform beneath her wheelchair appears to roll by itself toward Elmo. She smiles when she reaches the stool and an occupational therapist hands her the toy.

Giselle was diagnosed with a CAMK2b gene mutation when she was a toddler. It affects her brain91裸聊视频檚 ability to communicate with her muscles 91裸聊视频� meaning she can91裸聊视频檛 walk or move her arms much 91裸聊视频� and she91裸聊视频檚 not able to speak.

The Brain Computer Interface program at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto develops technology that allows Giselle and dozens of other physically disabled children to use their minds to move and play.

91裸聊视频�(These are) children who are not able to move themselves in space, (who) don91裸聊视频檛 have reliable movement and don91裸聊视频檛 have verbal communication or have difficulty with verbal communication. So really their only way of interacting with the environment is through their thoughts,91裸聊视频� said Susannah Van Damme, an occupational therapist and team lead for the hospital91裸聊视频檚 clinical BCI program.

The brain computer interface works like an on-off switch triggered by electrical patterns in the brain. While wearing a headset with EEG electrodes, the child is asked to think about something specific that will serve as a 91裸聊视频渃ommand91裸聊视频� thought. The child is then asked to relax and put their mind in a quiet, passive state, which serves as the 91裸聊视频渟top91裸聊视频� thought.

The electrodes transmit those electrical signals to a computer, where they are saved. The computer is trained through artificial intelligence to recognize those specific brain patterns when it sees them again and start or stop whatever device it91裸聊视频檚 connected to 91裸聊视频� such as Giselle91裸聊视频檚 rolling wheelchair platform.

91裸聊视频淎s long as an individual can generate activity in the brain you can kind of flick the switch and control the activity,91裸聊视频� said Tom Chau, senior scientist and head of Holland Bloorview91裸聊视频檚 Paediatric Rehabilitation Intelligent Systems Multidisciplinary lab.

Giselle generates a 91裸聊视频渃ommand91裸聊视频� thought bythinking about moving fast in her wheelchair, or focusing on the phrase 91裸聊视频済o, go, go.91裸聊视频�

But any thought will do. The key is for the child to concentrate on it while the computer records the electrical brain pattern it creates.

Then when the child wants to make something happen, they think the same thought again, generating the same brain pattern that the computer now recognizes.

91裸聊视频�(When a child) sends that 91裸聊视频済o91裸聊视频� signal, the computer interprets that just as a command to start, to activate whatever it is that it91裸聊视频檚 attached to,91裸聊视频� Van Damme said.

For another activity, the team attaches the computer to a bubble maker. The same command thoughts that allow Giselle to move her wheelchair now allow her to make bubbles appear.

In agame of 91裸聊视频渇reeze,91裸聊视频� the computer is programmed to play music when she thinks her command thought. As the Barney dance song plays, Giselle turns the music on and off as her mom and hospital staff dance around her. When she stops the music to make them freeze in position, Giselle smiles with delight.

91裸聊视频淪omeone who has not been able to turn on their favourite music or play a video game because of a physical disability, they can use their brain power to do that,91裸聊视频� Van Damme said.

Giselle91裸聊视频檚 parents, Samah Darwish and Naser Alnaser, said watching their daughter use BCI technology has been 91裸聊视频渁mazing.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淟ike any parent, you want some independence for the kids to do their own things 91裸聊视频� to move, to play, to learn and everything,91裸聊视频� said Alnaser.

91裸聊视频淭o be herself. To be a kid.91裸聊视频�

Although BCI research has occurredin various parts of the world for decades, a Canadian network comprised of Holland Bloorview, Alberta Children91裸聊视频檚 Hospital in Calgary and Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton has taken the lead in recent years in bringing the technology to children and youth with disabilities.

91裸聊视频淥ne thing that we noticed as a group of clinicians who see children and their families was that although those BCI technologies are rapidly advancing, the pediatric population were really neglected,91裸聊视频� said Dr. John Andersen, a University of Alberta associate professor of pediatrics who leads the BCI program at Glenrose.

91裸聊视频淲e wanted to see how we can make this accessible to children and learn from them and their families to kind of co-develop how this emerging technology can be accessible in its current form and how we can develop the technology and expertise around it in the future,91裸聊视频� said Andersen, noting that Chau at Holland Bloorview has been the trailblazer for the group.

Although the on-off switch activities help children and youth with neuromotor disabilities gain more control in their lives, the researchers say developing BCI technology to help non-verbal children communicate is the next major step 91裸聊视频� and a priority requested by their parents.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e been doing research in communication for, you know, two decades now. But we91裸聊视频檙e finally getting it to the point where you91裸聊视频檙e going to be able to translate it,91裸聊视频� said Chau.

The hope is that in the near future, children will be able to use BCI to convey wants and needs using their minds, he said.

91裸聊视频�(That would) really unlock huge potential for kids who91裸聊视频檝e been basically trapped in their own bodies,91裸聊视频� Chau said.

91裸聊视频淭hey have so much that they want to express. And there91裸聊视频檚 just never been the means.91裸聊视频�