A Python-based Brain-Computer Interface Package for Neural Data Analysis

Anowar, Md Hasan, A Python-based Brain-Computer Interface Package for Neural Data Analysis. Master of Science (MS), December, 2020, 70 pp., 4 tables, 23 figures, 74 references. Although a growing amount of research has been dedicated to neural engineering, only a handful of software packages are available for brain signal processing. Popular brain-computer interface packages depend on commercial software products such as MATLAB. Moreover, almost every brain-computer interface software is designed for a specific neuro-biological signal; there is no single Python-based package that supports motor imagery, sleep, and stimulated brain signal analysis. The necessity to introduce a brain-computer interface package that can be a free alternative for commercial software has motivated me to develop a toolbox using the python platform. In this thesis, the structure of MEDUSA, a brain-computer interface toolbox, is presented. The features of the toolbox are demonstrated with publicly available data sources. The MEDUSA toolbox provides a valuable tool to biomedical engineers and computational neuroscience researchers

Real-time EMG based pattern recognition control for hand prostheses : a review on existing methods, challenges and future implementation

Upper limb amputation is a condition that significantly restricts the amputees from performing their daily activities. The myoelectric prosthesis, using signals from residual stump muscles, is aimed at restoring the function of such lost limbs seamlessly. Unfortunately, the acquisition and use of such myosignals are cumbersome and complicated. Furthermore, once acquired, it usually requires heavy computational power to turn it into a user control signal. Its transition to a practical prosthesis solution is still being challenged by various factors particularly those related to the fact that each amputee has different mobility, muscle contraction forces, limb positional variations and electrode placements. Thus, a solution that can adapt or otherwise tailor itself to each individual is required for maximum utility across amputees. Modified machine learning schemes for pattern recognition have the potential to significantly reduce the factors (movement of users and contraction of the muscle) affecting the traditional electromyography (EMG)-pattern recognition methods. Although recent developments of intelligent pattern recognition techniques could discriminate multiple degrees of freedom with high-level accuracy, their efficiency level was less accessible and revealed in real-world (amputee) applications. This review paper examined the suitability of upper limb prosthesis (ULP) inventions in the healthcare sector from their technical control perspective. More focus was given to the review of real-world applications and the use of pattern recognition control on amputees. We first reviewed the overall structure of pattern recognition schemes for myo-control prosthetic systems and then discussed their real-time use on amputee upper limbs. Finally, we concluded the paper with a discussion of the existing challenges and future research recommendations

Decoding Movement Direction for Brain-Computer Interfaces using Depth and Surface EEG Recordings

A Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) is a communication system between the brain and an external device. The purpose of this project was to develop a decoder for a BCI system capable of providing a control output based on decoding of the intention of movement and of different directions of movement execution, which in turn will enhance the quality of the command to external systems to propitiate the restoration of more complex motor functions than the two-choice commands commonly available in literature. The system was based on classification of invasive and non-invasive brain signal recordings. Results of the detection of the intention of movement and the classification of the direction were significantly above the level of chance for both iEEG and scalp EEG data. The present study also enabled to set a comparison of different methods used for spatial filtering, normalization and classificatio

Исследование электрической активности мозга, связанной с движениями: обзор

Робота присвячена розгляду проблем, що виникають при дослідженні діяльності мозку, пов'язаної з рухами. Зміни в корі головного мозку під час виконання руху, а також його уявлення, відображають нейронні мережі, сформовані для планування і реалізації конкретного руху. Наведено огляд методів первинної обробки зареєстрованої активності головного мозку, які можуть бути використані для підвищення значимості виділених ознак. Описано закономірності, які мають місце до початку руху і після нього. Представлені методи, які підходять для оцінки зв'язку як між активністю мозку і активністю м'язів, так і між активністю областей головного мозку. Крім того, розглянута можливість класифікації та прогнозування рухів разом з реконструкцією кінематичних властивостей.The work is devoted to consideration of different problems which arise in studying of the movement-related brain activity. Changes in the cortex activity during performing of the movement both real and imagery represent neural networks formed for planning and performing of the particular motion. The review of possible preprocessing methods of the registered brain activity for increasing significance of extracted features are shown. Regularities and patterns which take place before and after movement onset are described. The methods that suitable for connectivity estimations in case of cortico-muscular relationships and in case of evaluations between brain regions are shown. In addition, possibility of movement classification and prediction together with reconstruction of kinematics features of the motion are considered.Работа посвящена рассмотрению проблем, возникающих при изучении деятельности мозга, связанной с движениями. Изменения в коре головного мозга во время выполнения движения, а также его представления, отображают нейронные сети, сформированные для планирования и реализации конкретного движения. Приведен обзор методов первичной обработки зарегистрированной активности головного мозга, которые могут быть использованы для повышения значимости выделенных признаков. Описаны закономерности, которые имеют место до начала движения и после него. Представлены методы, подходящие для оценки связи как между активностью мозга и активностью мышц, так и между активностью областей головного мозга. Кроме того, рассмотрена возможность классификации и прогнозирования движений вместе с реконструкцией кинематических свойств

Review of the BCI Competition IV

The BCI competition IV stands in the tradition of prior BCI competitions that aim to provide high quality neuroscientific data for open access to the scientific community. As experienced already in prior competitions not only scientists from the narrow field of BCI compete, but scholars with a broad variety of backgrounds and nationalities. They include high specialists as well as students. The goals of all BCI competitions have always been to challenge with respect to novel paradigms and complex data. We report on the following challenges: (1) asynchronous data, (2) synthetic, (3) multi-class continuous data, (4) session-to-session transfer, (5) directionally modulated MEG, (6) finger movements recorded by ECoG. As after past competitions, our hope is that winning entries may enhance the analysis methods of future BCIs.BMBF, 01IB001A, LOKI - Lernen zur Organisation komplexer Systeme der Informationsverarbeitung - Lernen im Kontext der SzenenanalyseBMBF, 01GQ0850, Bernstein Fokus Neurotechnologie - Nichtinvasive Neurotechnologie für Mensch-Maschine InteraktionEC/FP7/224631/EU/Tools for Brain-Computer Interaction/TOBIEC/FP7/216886/EU/Pattern Analysis, Statistical Modelling and Computational Learning 2/PASCAL2BMBF, 01GQ0420, Verbundprojekt: Bernstein-Zentrum für Neural Dynamics, Freiburg - CNDFBMBF, 01GQ0761, Bewegungsassoziierte Aktivierung - Dekodierung bewegungsassoziierter GehirnsignaleBMBF, 01GQ0762, Bewegungsassoziierte Aktivierung - Gehirn- und Maschinenlerne

Comparison of EEG Pattern Recognition of Motor Imagery for Finger Movement Classification

The detection of a hand movement beforehand can be a beneficent tool to control a prosthetic hand for upper extremity rehabilitation. To be able to achieve smooth control, the intention detection is acquired from the human body, especially from brain signal or electroencephalogram (EEG) signal. However, many constraints hamper the development of this brain-computer interface (BCI, especially for finger movement detection). Most of the researchers have focused on the detection of the left and right-hand movement. This article presents the comparison of various pattern recognition method for recognizing five individual finger movements, i.e., the thumb, index, middle, ring, and pinky finger movements. The EEG pattern recognition utilized common spatial pattern (CSP) for feature extraction. As for the classifier, four classifiers, i.e., random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighborhood (kNN), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were tested and compared to each other. The experimental results indicated that the EEG pattern recognition with RF achieved the best accuracy of about 54%. Other published publication reported that the classification of the individual finger movement is still challenging and need more efforts to make the best performance

Algorithms for Neural Prosthetic Applications

abstract: In the last 15 years, there has been a significant increase in the number of motor neural prostheses used for restoring limb function lost due to neurological disorders or accidents. The aim of this technology is to enable patients to control a motor prosthesis using their residual neural pathways (central or peripheral). Recent studies in non-human primates and humans have shown the possibility of controlling a prosthesis for accomplishing varied tasks such as self-feeding, typing, reaching, grasping, and performing fine dexterous movements. A neural decoding system comprises mainly of three components: (i) sensors to record neural signals, (ii) an algorithm to map neural recordings to upper limb kinematics and (iii) a prosthetic arm actuated by control signals generated by the algorithm. Machine learning algorithms that map input neural activity to the output kinematics (like finger trajectory) form the core of the neural decoding system. The choice of the algorithm is thus, mainly imposed by the neural signal of interest and the output parameter being decoded. The various parts of a neural decoding system are neural data, feature extraction, feature selection, and machine learning algorithm. There have been significant advances in the field of neural prosthetic applications. But there are challenges for translating a neural prosthesis from a laboratory setting to a clinical environment. To achieve a fully functional prosthetic device with maximum user compliance and acceptance, these factors need to be addressed and taken into consideration. Three challenges in developing robust neural decoding systems were addressed by exploring neural variability in the peripheral nervous system for dexterous finger movements, feature selection methods based on clinically relevant metrics and a novel method for decoding dexterous finger movements based on ensemble methods.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Bioengineering 201

Data-Driven Transducer Design and Identification for Internally-Paced Motor Brain Computer Interfaces: A Review

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) are systems that establish a direct communication pathway between the users' brain activity and external effectors. They offer the potential to improve the quality of life of motor-impaired patients. Motor BCIs aim to permit severely motor-impaired users to regain limb mobility by controlling orthoses or prostheses. In particular, motor BCI systems benefit patients if the decoded actions reflect the users' intentions with an accuracy that enables them to efficiently interact with their environment. One of the main challenges of BCI systems is to adapt the BCI's signal translation blocks to the user to reach a high decoding accuracy. This paper will review the literature of data-driven and user-specific transducer design and identification approaches and it focuses on internally-paced motor BCIs. In particular, continuous kinematic biomimetic and mental-task decoders are reviewed. Furthermore, static and dynamic decoding approaches, linear and non-linear decoding, offline and real-time identification algorithms are considered. The current progress and challenges related to the design of clinical-compatible motor BCI transducers are additionally discussed

BCI applications based on artificial intelligence oriented to deep learning techniques

A Brain-Computer Interface, BCI, can decode the brain signals corresponding to the intentions of individuals who have lost neuromuscular connection, to reestablish communication to control external devices. To this aim, BCI acquires brain signals as Electroencephalography (EEG) or Electrocorticography (ECoG), uses signal processing techniques and extracts features to train classifiers for providing proper control instructions. BCI development has increased in the last decades, improving its performance through the use of different signal processing techniques for feature extraction and artificial intelligence approaches for classification, such as deep learning-oriented classifiers. All of these can assure more accurate assistive systems but also can enable an analysis of the learning process of signal characteristics for the classification task. Initially, this work proposes the use of a priori knowledge and a correlation measure to select the most discriminative ECoG signal electrodes. Then, signals are processed using spatial filtering and three different types of temporal filtering, followed by a classifier made of stacked autoencoders and a softmax layer to discriminate between ECoG signals from two types of visual stimuli. Results show that the average accuracy obtained is 97% (+/- 0.02%), which is similar to state-of-the-art techniques, nevertheless, this method uses minimal prior physiological and an automated statistical technique to select some electrodes to train the classifier. Also, this work presents classifier analysis, figuring out which are the most relevant signal features useful for visual stimuli classification. The features and physiological information such as the brain areas involved are compared. Finally, this research uses Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) or Convnets to classify 5 categories of motor tasks EEG signals. Movement-related cortical potentials (MRCPs) are used as a priori information to improve the processing of time-frequency representation of EEG signals. Results show an increase of more than 25% in average accuracy compared to a state-of-the-art method that uses the same database. In addition, an analysis of CNN or ConvNets filters and feature maps is done to and the most relevant signal characteristics that can help classify the five types of motor tasks.DoctoradoDoctor en Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónic