Open Access

Dominik Wetzel, Julia Winterlich, Tom Schaal

• Introduction: Brain-computer interfaces in combination with functional electrical stimulation (BCI-FES) is currently researched whether it is a viable approach for post-stroke rehabilitation, but it is important to know which patient groups can benefit from such systems and what features it should have to be accepted and used in a clinical context. Materials and Methods: A qualitative interview study with eight staff members from a regional hospital with a supraregional stroke unit was conducted. Categories where independently extracted from the answers. Results: The results indicate that such systems must be easy to operate, quick to setup, and should possibly be usable at home. The interviewees state that Phases A and B patients (acute rehabilitation and early rehabilitation) may not benefit from such systems as they usually do not have the cognitive abilities to understand and implement the instruction. Conclusion: BCI-FES system is currently not useful for inpatient rehabilitation routine of a stroke unit due to the lack of time and complexity of such systems. Furthermore, it should be evaluated how Phases C and D patients (follow-up rehabilitation) can benefit from such systems.