Single-trial detection of motor related potentials for use in a direct brain interface for persons with severe disabilities

这项研究的最终目标是创造一种先进的个人控制界面，使高度残疾的人能够通过直接从大脑记录的信号来控制机械臂或计算机等设备。这种类型的脑机接口(BCI)将允许即使是最高残疾程度的个人使用现有的和新兴的技术辅助工具，从而增加他们的独立性，并导致改善生活质量和降低社会成本。然而，在过去的二十年里，BCI的概念已经出现。在我们的方法中，当用户想要控制设备时，他或她通过有意识地改变他或她的认知状态来产生控制信号。认知状态的变化是通过用户头皮上的电活动的特定模式来衡量的。BCI系统监控用户的大脑信号，检测控制信号的存在，确定用户产生的控制信号，然后将控制指令转发到被控制的设备。迄今为止，将这种方法用于BCI开关的工作取得了令人振奋的结果。我们的发现表明，患有高水平脊髓损伤的个人和健全的人可以控制这种开关，尽管有许多突出的问题需要解决。我们将研究通过新的信号处理和开关定制方法来提高开关激活精度的方法，扩展开关的带宽和功能，并探索减少干扰性能的污染信号的方法。

The ultimate goal of this research is to create an advanced personal control interface that will allow an individual with a high-level disability to control a device such as a robotic arm or a computer with signals recorded directly from their brain. This type of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) will allow individuals with even the highest levels of disability to use existing and emerging technical aids, thus increasing their independence and leading to an improved quality of life and reduced social costs.   The concept of a BCI has emerged over the last two decades. In our approach, a user generates a control signal by consciously changing his or her cognitive state when he or she wants to control the device. The change in cognitive state is measured as a specific pattern in electrical activity on the user's scalp. The BCI system monitors the user's brain signals, detects the presence of control signals, decides which control signal was generated by the user and then forwards the control instruction on to the device being controlled.     Work to date on this approach to a BCI switch has produced promising results. Our findings suggest that individuals with high-level spinal-cord injuries and able-bodied people can control the switch, although there are many outstanding issues that need to be addressed. We will study methods to improve the switch activation accuracy through new signal processing and switch customization methods, expand the bandwidth and functionality of our switch, and explore methods to reduce contaminating signals that interfere with the performance.