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Brain Computer Interface Based Communicator for Persons in Locked-in State
Volume 30, Issue 4 (2019), pp. 781–798
Pub. online: 1 January 2019      Type: Research Article      Open accessOpen Access
Received
1 October 2017
Accepted
1 May 2019
Published
1 January 2019

Abstract

Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) are devices that use brain signals for control or communication. Since they don’t require movement of any part of the body, BCI are the natural choice for assisted communication when a person is unable to move.
In this article, BCI based communicator for persons in locked-in state is described. It is based on P300 brain response of the user, thus does not require prior training, movement or imagination of movement. Auditory paradigm is selected in order to apply the communicator in cases where visual ability is also impaired. The communicator was designed to prove also whether low cost hardware with reduced electrode set could be used efficiently in everyday environment, without the need for expert personnel.
The design of the communicator is described first, followed by detailed analyses of the performance when used by either healthy or disabled subjects. It is shown that auditory paradigm is the primary factor that limits the accuracy of communication. Hardware characteristics and reduced electrode set influence the accuracy in a negative way as well, while different questions and answer types produce no major differences.

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Biographies

Vlahinić Saša
sasa.vlahinic@riteh.hr

S. Vlahinić received the BSc and PhD degrees in electronic engineering from University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy, in 1998 and 2003, respectively. Since 2000 he had been young researcher at the Department of Automation, Electronics and Computing, Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia. Currently, he is a full professor at the same faculty and head of Department of Automation and Electronics. His current research interests are concerned with BCI technologies and EEG signal processing.

Batistić Luka

L. Batistić received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer engineering (years 2014 and 2017, respectively) from Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka. Since 2016, he is a junior researcher in Department of Automation and Electronics, Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka. Currently he is also a teaching assistant and a PhD student at the same faculty.

Jadav Guruprasad Madhale

G. Madhale Jadav received his BTech in electronics and instrumentation technology from the Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, Karnataka, India, in 2013. Since 2014 he has been pursuing his PhD as a young researcher at the Department of Automation and Electronics, Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia. His current field of research deal with BCI technology and EEG signal processing.

Vrankić Miroslav

M. Vrankić received his diploma degree, as well as MS and PhD degrees from University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing. Since 1999 he has been with the Department of Electronic Systems and Information Processing, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, Croatia. Since 2003 he has been with the Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka, Croatia, where he is currently an associated professor.


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Copyright
© 2019 Vilnius University
Open access article under the CC BY license.

Keywords
BCI communicator P300 ERP auditory stimuli

Funding
This work was supported by the Croatian Agency HAMAG-BICRO, grant number POC6-2-32.

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