reSearch Vol. 10, Issue 2.indd

Study evaluated the impact of a hybrid control on usability of a P300-based brain-computer interface (BCI) system that was designed to control an assistive technology software and was integrated with an electromyographic channel for error correction. The 11 participants in this pilot study included 8 healthy and 3 severely motor-impaired subjects. The three people with severe motor disability were identifi ed as potential candidates to benefi t from the proposed hybrid BCI system for communication and environmental interaction. To investigate the improvement in usability, two modalities of BCI system control were compared: a P300-based and a hybrid P300 electromyographic-based mode of control. System usability was evaluated according to the following outcome measures within three domains: (1) effectiveness (overall system accuracy and P300based BCI accuracy); (2) effi ciency (throughput time and users’ workload); and (3) satisfaction (users’ satisfaction). The information transfer rate and time for selection were also considered. Results obtained in healthy participants were in favor of a higher usability of the hybrid control as compared with the non-hybrid. A similar trend was indicated by the observational results gathered from each of the three potential end-users. The proposed hybrid BCI control modality could provide end-users with severe motor disability with an additional option to exploit some residual muscular activity. Bacher, D., Cash, S.S., Friehs, G., Hochberg, L.R., Jarosiewicz, B., Masse, N.Y., Newell, K., Oakley, E.M., Simeral, J.D., & Stavisky, S.D. (2015). Neural point-and-click communication by a person with incomplete locked-in syndrome. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 29(5), 462-471. NARIC Accession Number: J71452 ABSTRACT: Study evaluated the ability of an individual with incomplete locked-in syndrome enrolled in the BrainGate Neural Interface System pilot clinical trial to communicate using neural point-and-click control. Neural interface systems, also called braincomputer interfaces (BCIs), are devices that connect the nervous system to an external device for the purpose of restoring mobility and communication to individuals with paralysis and anarthria (inability to speak) resulting from neurological disorders. A general-purpose interface was developed to provide control of a computer cursor in tandem with one of two onscreen virtual keyboards: (1) a standard QWERTY keyboard and (2) the BrainGate Radial Keyboard, which has been designed to improve typing performance and ease-of-use for neural point-and-click communication. The participant used this interface to communicate face-to-face with research staff by using text-to-speech conversion, and remotely using an Internet chat application. The Radial Keyboard was compared to the standard QWERTY keyboard in a balanced copy-spelling task. Results showed that the Radial Keyboard yielded a signifi cant improvement in typing accuracy and speed, enabling typing rates greater than 10 correct characters per minute. Furthermore, the participant reported strongly preferring the Radial Keyboard over the QWERTY keyboard, citing its speed and ease of use. This study demonstrates the fi rst use of an intracortical BCI for neural point-and-click communication by an individual with incomplete locked-in syndrome. Bieker, G., Fried-Oken, M., Heckman, S.M., Huggins, J.E., Peters, B., Wolf, C., & Zeitlin, D. (2015). Brain-computer interface users speak up: The virtual users’ forum at the 2013 international brain-computer interface meeting. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 96(3, Supplement 1), S33-S37. NARIC Accession Number: J70939 Project Number: H133G090005 ABSTRACT: Article reports on the Virtual Users’ Forum, including initial results from ongoing research