Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2009
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation
Volume
6
DOI of Original Publication
doi:10.1186/1743-0003-6-14
Date of Submission
September 2014
Abstract
Background
Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) use electroencephalography (EEG) to interpret user intention and control an output device accordingly. We describe a novel BCI method to use a signal from five EEG channels (comprising one primary channel with four additional channels used to calculate its Laplacian derivation) to provide two-dimensional (2-D) control of a cursor on a computer screen, with simple threshold-based binary classification of band power readings taken over pre-defined time windows during subject hand movement.
Methods
We tested the paradigm with four healthy subjects, none of whom had prior BCI experience. Each subject played a game wherein he or she attempted to move a cursor to a target within a grid while avoiding a trap. We also present supplementary results including one healthy subject using motor imagery, one primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) patient, and one healthy subject using a single EEG channel without Laplacian derivation.
Results
For the four healthy subjects using real hand movement, the system provided accurate cursor control with little or no required user training. The average accuracy of the cursor movement was 86.1% (SD 9.8%), which is significantly better than chance (p = 0.0015). The best subject achieved a control accuracy of 96%, with only one incorrect bit classification out of 47. The supplementary results showed that control can be achieved under the respective experimental conditions, but with reduced accuracy.
Conclusion
The binary method provides naïve subjects with real-time control of a cursor in 2-D using dichotomous classification of synchronous EEG band power readings from a small number of channels during hand movement. The primary strengths of our method are simplicity of hardware and software, and high accuracy when used by untrained subjects.
Rights
© 2009 Kayagil et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Is Part Of
VCU Biomedical Engineering Publications
Example Video. Demonstrates the general sequence of a typical cursor control game. No audio.
1743-0003-6-14-s2.pdf (3455 kB)
Overview. Summarizes the binary control computational method.
Comments
Originally published at: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1186/1743-0003-6-14