James Brooks BME 281 Presentation 1

What are BCI? Brain-computer interfaces are direct pathways of communication between the brain and some external device. Robotic arms

History 1924 – 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 rewards Developed algorithms for neural firing patterns 1980s – found a relationship function(cosine-based) for electrical responses and corresponding movement in rhesus macaque monkeys

Medical Rehabilitation Uses Brain damaged by stroke BCI used to teach patient how to move muscles to which the brain has forgotten how to control

Communication Communication with patients that have motor-neural disabilities Locked-In Syndrome Attach patient to BCI, output as cursor movement

Gaming Mindflex – 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) BCI Most accurate signal Accuracy fades over time Damage to the brain, bodies defenses attack foreign object, scar tissue Most risky Can cause damage to brain, leaves brain exposed

Non-Invasive(NI) BCI Less accurate signal Cranium alters the signals that are picked up from the brain, can cause problems Less risky Brain isn’t exposed, less risk to overall health

Partially Invasive BCI More accurate than NI-BCI, more risky Less accurate than I-BCI, less risky Placed under the skull, but not in the brain Electrocorticography, like non-invasive EEG This technique was used when the neural differences between vowels and consonants were discovered

Ethical Considerations How 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?

Future Gaming Remote control through the brain of devices Internet access for the brain Neural controlled prosthetics

References 1. Andersson P, Pluim J, Viergever M, Ramsey N. Navigation of a Telepresence Robot via Covert Visuospatial Attention and Real- time fMRI Wikipedia: Brain-Computer Interfaces 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 Kübler A, Neumann N. Brain Computer Interfaces—the Key for the Conscious Brain Locked in a Paralyzed Body.