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About

Doris Broetz is a pioneering researcher in neurorehabilitation, whose work has fundamentally advanced the use of brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) for restoring motor function in chronic stroke patients. Her research focuses on developing and validating BMI-based therapies for severely paralyzed individuals who have exhausted conventional treatment options. Broetz’s landmark 2010 case report, cited over 220 times, demonstrated for the first time that combining BMI training with goal-directed physical therapy could restore voluntary finger extension in a chronic hemiplegic patient, challenging the long-held belief that such recovery was impossible. She further proved the durability of these gains in a randomized trial with 116 citations, showing that BMI-driven improvements persist for at least six months post-intervention. Broetz also pioneered hybrid BMIs that integrate EEG and EMG signals, enhancing system robustness for clinical use. Her work on decoding residual muscle activity and understanding pathological muscle synergies has provided critical insights into the neural mechanisms of post-stroke recovery. Through these contributions, Broetz has established BMI-based rehabilitation as a viable, evidence-backed approach for the most severe stroke cases, offering new hope where none existed before.