James BrooksBME 281 Presentation 1

What are BCI?Brain-computer

interfaces are direct pathways of communication between the brain and some external device.Robotic arms

History1924 – Invention of Electroencephalography (EEG,

Hans Berger)Identified “brain waves”, led to brain mapping

1969 – UWash School of Medicine “showed monkeys could control biofeedback meter arm with neural activity [2]”

1970s – research into teaching monkeys to control their firing patterns and get rewardsDeveloped algorithms for neural firing patterns1980s – found a relationship function(cosine-based)

for electrical responses and corresponding movement in rhesus macaque monkeys

Medical Rehabilitation UsesBrain damaged by

strokeBCI used to teach

patient how to move muscles to which the brain has forgotten how to control

CommunicationCommunication with

patients that have motor-neural disabilitiesLocked-In

Syndrome Attach patient to

BCI, output as cursor movement

GamingMindflex – EEG

controlled obstacle course (2007)

OCZ Technology (2008) created a device for playing games controlled by EMG

NeuroSky – Star Wars Force Trainer (2009)

Invasive(I) BCIMost accurate signal

Accuracy fades over time Damage to the brain,

bodies defenses attack foreign object, scar tissue

Most riskyCan cause damage

to brain, leaves brain exposed

Non-Invasive(NI) BCILess accurate signal

Cranium alters the signals that are picked up from the brain, can cause problems

Less riskyBrain isn’t exposed, less risk to overall health

Partially Invasive BCIMore accurate than NI-BCI, more riskyLess accurate than I-BCI, less riskyPlaced under the skull, but not in the brain

Electrocorticography, like non-invasive EEGThis technique was used when the neural

differences between vowels and consonants were discovered

Ethical ConsiderationsHow can you obtain consent for a BCI from

someone that can’t communicate?Do the benefits outweigh the risks?What happens if someone wants to keep a

thought secret and BCI detects it?What is the limit of what we will do with BCI?Could people use BCI to interrogate

someone?

FutureGamingRemote control through the brain of devicesInternet access for the brainNeural controlled prosthetics

References1. Andersson P, Pluim J, Viergever M, Ramsey N.

Navigation of a Telepresence Robot via Covert Visuospatial Attention and Real-time fMRI. <www.springlink.com/conttent/41458747m3t57461/fulltext.pdf>

2. Wikipedia: Brain-Computer Interfaces. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain-computer_interface>

3. Kaufmann T, Völker S, Gunesch L, Kübler A. Spelling is Just a Click Away- A User-Centred Brain-Computer Interface Including Auto-Calibration and Predictive Text Entry. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3400942/>

4. Kübler A, Neumann N. Brain Computer Interfaces—the Key for the Conscious Brain Locked in a Paralyzed Body. <www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16186045>