EarEEG based visual P300 Brain-Computer Interface

Abstract

The translation of non-invasive Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) from the only possible communication pathway for paralyzed patients into more widespread applications is limited by: the lack of effective, user-friendly and robust paradigms, low information transfer rates (ITR), and lack of suitable electroencephalography (EEG) recording platforms. This study addresses the last point by exploring the extent to which the recently introduced EarEEG technology, which provides an unobtrusive, discreet and user-friendly way of recording EEG, can be used in BCI applications. This was approached by comparing conventional on-scalp EEG and EarEEG recordings in a well-established visual P300 BCI setup. The two recording methods were compared qualitatively by comparing Event-Related Potential (ERP) waveforms, and quantitatively in terms of P300 signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and ITRs of the BCI paradigm. The study showed similar ERP waveforms and on par P300 SNRs from both on-scalp and ear electrodes, and only a 6.5% decrease in single channel ITR for ear electrodes compared to on-scalp electrodes. This demonstrates that the EarEEG platform is a feasible technology for P300-based BCIs.