BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACE (BCI)

Presentation
by

Shaik.Khaja Mohiuddin
10MSE0050
16/11/10
1. What is BCI?
2. BCI Disciplines
3. Why BCI?
4. BCI paradigms
5. Applications of BCI
6. Current trends and Future directions
What is a BCI?
A Brain-Computer Interface is a communication system
that do not depend on peripheral nerves and muscles .
BCIs read electrical signals or other manifestations of brain
activity and translate them into a digital form that
computers can understand, process, and convert into
actions of some kind, such as moving a cursor or turning on
a TV.
BCI can help people with inabilities to control computers,
wheelchairs, televisions, or other devices with brain
activity.
The 3 major components of BCIs
1. Ways of measuring neural signals from the human
brain
2. Methods and algorithms for decoding brain
states/intentions from these signals
and
3. Methodology and algorithms for mapping the
decoded brain activity to intended behavior or
action.
Invasive versus Non-invasive BCI
Invasive techniques, which implant electrodes directly
onto a patient’s brain;

Noninvasive techniques, in which medical

scanning devices or sensors mounted on caps or
headbands read brain signals.
BCI Disciplines
Nanotechnology
Biotechnology
Information technology
Cognitive science
Computer science
Biomedical engineering
Neuroscience
Applied mathematics
 Why BCI?
 BCI is a new neuroscience paradigm that might help us better
understand how the human brain works in terms of reorganization,
learning, memory, attention, thinking, social interaction, motivation,
interconnectivity, and much more.
 BCI research allows us to develop a new class of bioengineering
control devices and robots to provide daily life assistance to
handicapped and elderly people.
 Several potential applications of BCI hold promise for rehabilitation
and improving performance, such as treating emotional disorders (for
example, depression or anxiety), easing chronic pain, and overcoming
movement disabilities due to stroke.
 BCI can expand possibilities for advanced human computer interfaces
(HCIs), making them more natural, flexible, efficient, secure, and user-
friendly by enhancing the interaction between the brain, the eyes, the
body, and a robot or a computer.
BCI Paradigms
Passive endogenous: specific mental imagination activity—
for example, motor imagery or mental arithmetic;
active endogenous: active neurofeedback and unrestricted
mental imagination using the operant-conditioning
principle—a “no specifics” cognitive, “just do it” principle;
passive exogenous: responses to externally driven stimuli
to evoke specific brain responses called event-related
potentials (ERPs); and
active exogenous: consciously modified responses to
external stimuli, often combined with neurofeedback.
 Carleton University’s proposed BCI-based biometric system

Subjects use specific thoughts as passwords (called pass-thoughts).When someone

tries to access a protected computer system or building, they think of their pass-
thought.A headpiece with electrodes records the brain signals.The system
extracts the signal’s features for computer processing,which includes
identification of the feature subset that best and most consistently represents the
pass-thought.The biometric system then compares the subset to those recorded
for authorized users.
Current and future trends
in noninvasive BCI
Unimodal to multimodal - that is, simultaneous
monitoring of brain activity using several devices and
combining BCI with multimodal HCIs;
Simple signal-processing tools to more advanced machine
learning and multidimensional data mining;
Synchronous binary decision to multidegree control and
asynchronous self-paced control;
Open-loop to closed-loop control - neurofeedback
combined with multimodal HCI; and
Laboratory tests to practical trials in the noisy real world
environment.
Applications:
Patient with severe movement disorders: Control
external devices (neuroprosthesis, wheelchair) by
mental focus
Entertainment (games)
Military Use (fighter pilots)
Thank you