A research group at Keio University, led by the IoB Interface team (Sub-Project Manager: Junichi Ushiba), has demonstrated that actual motor performance can be improved by using non-invasive Brain–Computer Interface (BCI) technology to visualize and train brain states during motor imagery in real-time.

These research results were published on April 10, 2026 (local time) in PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

From Medical Recovery to Human Augmentation
The research team has previously achieved significant milestones in functional recovery for patients with severe post-stroke paralysis. They successfully commercialized BCI technology as a medical device through the Keio University-born startup, LIFESCAPES Inc., which has already deployed the technology to over 60 medical institutions across Japan.

The latest findings mark a major step in expanding BCI applications beyond the medical field into sports, healthcare, and human augmentation.

Accelerating Moonshot Goal 1
By enabling top athletes to break through physical limits and helping individuals overcome age-related functional decline, this technology is expected to powerfully accelerate the realization of Moonshot Goal 1: “A society in which human beings can be free from limitations of body, brain, space, and time by 2050.”

Full Press Release (JST Website): https://www.jst.go.jp/pr/announce/20260413/index.html