On-FPGA Spiking Neural Networks for End-to-End Neural Decoding

In the last decades, deep learning neural decoding algorithms have gained momentum in the field of neural interfaces and neural processing systems. However, to be deployed on low-budget portable devices while maintaining real-time operability, these models must withstand strict computational and power limitations. This work presents a spike decoding system implemented on a low-end Zynq-7010 FPGA, which includes a multiplier-less spike detection pipeline and a spiking-neural-network-based decoder mapped in the programmable logic. We tested the system on two publicly available datasets and achieved comparable results with state-of-the-art neural decoders that use more complex deep learning models. The system required 7.36 times fewer parameters than the smallest architecture tested on the same dataset. Moreover, by exploiting the spike sparsity property of the neural signal, the total amount of computations is reduced by about 90% during a test carried out on real recorded data. The low computational complexity of the chosen spike detection setup, combined with the power efficiency of spiking neural networks, makes this prototype a well-suited choice for low-power real-time neural decoding at the edge.