In-Ear Electrode EEG for Practical SSVEP BCI

Surej Mouli,Ramaswamy Palaniappan,Ian Mcloughlin,Emmanuel Molefi

doi:10.3390/technologies8040063

Abstract

Steady State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP) methods for brain–computer interfaces (BCI) are popular due to higher information transfer rate and easier setup with minimal training, compared to alternative methods. With precisely generated visual stimulus frequency, it is possible to translate brain signals into external actions or signals. Traditionally, SSVEP data is collected from the occipital region using electrodes with or without gel, normally mounted on a head cap. In this experimental study, we develop an in-ear electrode to collect SSVEP data for four different flicker frequencies and compare against occipital scalp electrode data. Data from five participants demonstrates the feasibility of in-ear electrode based SSVEP, significantly enhancing the practicability of wearable BCI applications.

Highlights

With the advent of the Internet of Things (I O T), wearable technology is rapidly evolving for uses such as physiological and biomechanical monitoring, combining data from multiple real-time sensors
Higher information transfer rate (ITR), minimal training requirement and better accuracy have led to state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) becoming the most popular brain–computer interface (BCI) approach [8,9,10]
In-ear and occipital SSVEP responses are compared for signal reliability

Summary

Introduction

With the advent of the Internet of Things (I O T), wearable technology is rapidly evolving for uses such as physiological and biomechanical monitoring, combining data from multiple real-time sensors. Enhancing such technology with brain–computer interface (BCI) concepts has further potential for healthcare applications ranging from monitoring emotions, stress or other visuomotor tracking in real-time [1,2,3]. There are several non-invasive BCI modalities like P300, motor imagery (MI) and steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP). Current SSVEP based BCI applications collect data from the visual cortex using either dry or gel-based electrodes fitted on an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap.

Methods

Results

Conclusion