Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
2
Electroencephalogram-based
Brain
-
Computer Interface:
An Introduction
Ramaswamy Palaniappan
Abstract
Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are useful for diagnosing various mental
conditions
such as epilepsy, memory impairments and sleep disorders.
Brain
computer interface (BCI) is a revolutionary new area using EEG that is
most useful for the severely disabled individuals for hands-off device control and
communication as they create a direct interface from the brain to the external
environment, therefore circumventing the use of peripheral muscles and limbs.
However, being non-invasive, BCI designs are not necessarily limited to this
user group and other applications for gaming, music, biometrics etc., have been
developed more recently. This chapter will give an introduction to EEG-based
BCI and existing methodologies; speci
-
cally those based on transient and steady
state evoked potentials, mental tasks and motor imagery will be described. Two
real-life scenarios of EEG-based BCI applications in biometrics and device
control will also be brie
y explored. Finally, current challenges and future trends
of this technology will be summarised.
2.1
Introduction
Brain
field of science that is rapidly
growing due to its usefulness in assisting disabled patients as it provides a direct
mechanism of controlling external devices through simple manipulation of brain
thoughts (Nicolas-Alonso and Gomez-Gil
2012
). Disabled individuals here could
computer interface (BCI) is a revolutionary
