Invasive brain-computer interfaces aim to improve the quality of life of severely paralyzed patients. Movement intentions are read out in the brain, and this information is used to control robotic limbs. A research team at the Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum Langendreer, University Clinic of Ruhr-Universität Bochum, has examined which errors can occur during communication between the brain and the robotic prosthesis and which of them are particularly significant. With the aid of a virtual reality model, the researchers found that a faulty alignment of the prosthesis, the so-called end effector, results in a measurable loss of performance. The Bochum-based researchers headed by Dr. Christian Klaes from the Department of Neurosurgery published the results in the journal Scientific Reports.