BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

1. INTRODUCTION
Man machine interface has been one of the growing fields of research and
Development in recent years. Most of the effort has been dedicated to the design of user-
Friendly or ergonomic systems by means of innovative interfaces such as voice
recognition, virtual reality. A direct brain-computer interface would add a new dimension
to man-machine interaction.
A brain-computer interface, sometimes called a direct neural interface or a brain
machine interface, is a direct communication pathway between a human or animal brain
(or brain cell culture) and an external device. In one BCIs, computers either accept
commands from the brain or send signals to it but not both. Two way BCIs will allow
brains and external devices to exchange information in both directions but have yet to be
successfully implanted in animals or humans.
Brain-Computer interface is a staple of science fiction writing. In its earliest
incarnations no mechanism was thought necessary, as the technology seemed so far
fetched that no explanation was likely. As more became known about the brain however,
the possibility has become more real and the science fiction more technically
sophisticated. Recently, the cyberpunk movement has adopted the idea of 'jacking in',
sliding 'biosoft' chips into slots implanted in the skull(Gibson, W.1984).Although such
biosofts are still science fiction, there have been several recent steps toward interfacing
the brain and computers.
In this definition, the word brain means the brain or nervous system of an organic
life form rather than the mind. Computer means any processing or computational device,
from simple circuits to silicon chips (including hypothetical future technologies like
quantum computing).
Research on BCIs has been going on for more than 30 years but from the mid
1990’s there has been dramatic increase working experimental implants. The common
thread throughout the research is the remarkable cortical-plasticity of the brain, which
often adapts to BCIs treating prostheses controlled by implants and natural limbs. With
Recent advances in technology and knowledge, pioneering researches could now
conceivably attempt to produce BCIs that augment human functions rather than simply
restoring them, previously only the realm of science fiction.

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

Fig. 1.1: Schematic diagram of a BCI system

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

2. MAIN PRINCIPLE

Main principle behind this interface is the bioelectrical activity of nerves and
muscles. It is now well established that the human body, which is composed of living
tissues, can be considered as a power station generating multiple electrical signals with
two internal sources, namely muscles and nerves.
We know that brain is the most important part of human body. It controls all the
emotions and functions of the human body. The brain is composed of millions of neurons.
These neurons work together in complex logic and produce thought and signals that
control our bodies. When the neuron fires, or activates, there is a voltage change across
the cell, (~100mv) which can be read through a variety of devices. When we want to
make a voluntary action, the command generates from the frontal lobe. Signals are
generated on the surface of the brain. These electric signals are different in magnitude and
frequency.
By monitoring and analyzing these signals we can understand the working of
brain. When we imagine ourselves doing something, small signals generate from different
areas of the brain. These signals are not large enough to travel down the spine and cause
actual movement. These small signals are, however, measurable. A neuron depolarizes to
generate an impulse; this action causes small changes in the electric field around the
neuron. These changes are measured as 0 (no impulse) or 1 (impulse generated) by the
electrodes. We can control the brain functions by artificially producing these signals and
sending them to respective parts. This is through stimulation of that part of the brain,
which is responsible for a particular function using implanted electrodes.

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

3. ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method used in measuring the

electrical activity of the brain. The brain generates rhythmical potentials which originate
in the individual neurons of the brain. These potentials get summated as millions of cell
discharge synchronously and appear as a surface waveform, the recording of which is
known as the electroencephalogram.
The neurons, like other cells of the body, are electrically polarized at rest. The
interior of the neuron is at a potential of about –70mV relative to the exterior. When a
neuron is exposed to a stimulus above a certain threshold, a nerve impulse, seen as a
change in membrane potential, is generated which spreads in the cell resulting in the
depolarization of the cell. Shortly afterwards, repolarization occurs.
The EEG signal can be picked up with electrodes either from scalp or directly
from the cerebral cortex. As the neurons in our brain communicate with each other by
firing electrical impulses, this creates an electric field which travel though the cortex, the
dura, the skull and the scalp. The EEG is measured from the surface of the scalp by
measuring potential difference between the actual measuring electrode and a reference
electrode.
The peak-to-peak amplitude of the waves that can be picked up from the scalp is normally
100 microV or less while that on the exposed brain, is about 1mV. The frequency varies
greatly with different behavioural states. The normal EEG frequency content ranges from
0.5 to 50 Hz.
Frequency information is particularly significant since the basic frequency of the
EEG range is classified into five bands for purposes of EEG analysis. These bands are
called brain rhythms and are named after Greek letters.
Five brain rhythms are displayed in Table.2. Most of the brain research is
concentrated in these channels and especially alpha and beta bands are important for BCI
research. The reason why the bands do not follow the greek letter magnitudely (alpha is
not the lowest band) is that this is the order in which they were discovered.
The alpha rhythm is one of the principal components of the EEG and is an
indicator of the state of alertness of the brain.

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

4. HOW BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACES WORK

Fig 4.1: How brain computer interface works

As the power of modern computers grows alongside our understanding of the

human brain, we move ever closer to making some pretty spectacular science fiction into
reality. Imagine transmitting signals directly to someone's brain that would allow them to
see, hear or feel specific sensory inputs. Consider the potential to manipulate computers
or machinery with nothing more than a thought. It isn't about convenience -- for severely
disabled people, development of a brain-computer interface (BCI) could be the most
important technological breakthrough in decades. In this article, we'll learn all about how
BCIs work, their limitations and where they could be headed in the future.

The Electric Brain

The reason a BCI works at all is because of the way our brains function. Our
brains are filled with neurons, individual nerve cells connected to one another by
dendrites and axons. Every time we think, move, feel or remember something, our
neurons are at work. That work is carried out by small electric signals that zip from

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

neuron to neuron as fast as 250 mph [source: Walker]. The signals are generated by
differences in electric potential carried by ions on the membrane of each neuron.
Although the paths the signals take are insulated by something called myelin,
some of the electric signal escapes. Scientists can detect those signals, interpret what they
mean and use them to direct a device of some kind. It can also work the other way
around. For example, researchers could figure out what signals are sent to the brain by the
optic nerve when someone sees the color red. They could rig a camera that would send
those exact signals into someone's brain whenever the camera saw red, allowing a blind
person to "see" without eyes.

BCI Input and Output

Fig 4.2: BCI Input and output

One of the biggest challenges facing brain-computer interface researchers today is

the basic mechanics of the interface itself. The easiest and least invasive method is a set
of electrodes -- a device known as an electroencephalograph (EEG) -- attached to the
scalp. The electrodes can read brain signals. However, the skull blocks a lot of the
electrical signal, and it distorts what does get through.

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

To get a higher-resolution signal, scientists can implant electrodes directly into the
gray matter of the brain itself, or on the surface of the brain, beneath the skull. This
allows for much more direct reception of electric signals and allows electrode placement
in the specific area of the brain where the appropriate signals are generated. This
approach has many problems, however. It requires invasive surgery to implant the
electrodes, and devices left in the brain long-term tend to cause the formation of scar
tissue in the gray matter. This scar tissue ultimately blocks signals.
Regardless of the location of the electrodes, the basic mechanism is the same: The
electrodes measure minute differences in the voltage between neurons. The signal is then
amplified and filtered. In current BCI systems, it is then interpreted by a computer
program, although you might be familiar with older analogue encephalographs, which
displayed the signals via pens that automatically wrote out the patterns on a continuous
sheet of paper.
In the case of a sensory input BCI, the function happens in reverse. A computer
converts a signal, such as one from a video camera, into the voltages necessary to trigger
neurons. The signals are sent to an implant in the proper area of the brain, and if
everything works correctly, the neurons fire and the subject receives a visual image
corresponding to what the camera sees.
Another way to measure brain activity is with a Magnetic Resonance Image
(MRI). An MRI machine is a massive, complicated device. It produces very high-
resolution images of brain activity, but it can't be used as part of a permanent or
semipermanent BCI. Researchers use it to get benchmarks for certain brain functions or to
map where in the brain electrodes should be placed to measure a specific function. For
example, if researchers are attempting to implant electrodes that will allow someone to
control a robotic arm with their thoughts, they might first put the subject into an MRI and
ask him or her to think about moving their actual arm. The MRI will show which area of
the brain is active during arm movement, giving them a clearer target for electrode
placement.

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

5. WORKING ARCHITECTURE

5.1 Introduction:
Before moving to real implications of BCI and its application let us first discuss
the three types of BCI. These types are decided on the basis of the technique used for the
interface. Each of these techniques has some advantages as well as some disadvantages.
The three types of BCI are as follows with there features:

5.2 Invasive BCI:

Invasive BCI are directly implanted into the grey matter of the brain during
neurosurgery. They produce the highest quality signals of BCI devices. Invasive BCIs has
targeted repairing damaged sight and providing new functionality to paralyzed people.
But these BCIs are prone to building up of scar-tissue which causes the signal to become
weaker and even lost as body reacts to a foreign object in the brain.

Fig 5.1: Invasive BCI

In vision science, direct brain implants have been used to treat non-congenital i.e.
acquired blindness. One of the first scientists to come up with a working brain interface to
restore sight as private researcher, William Dobelle.
Dobelle’s first prototype was implanted into Jerry, a man blinded in adulthood,
in1978. A single-array BCI containing 68 electrodes was implanted onto Jerry’s visual
cortex and succeeded in producing phosphenes, the sensation of seeing light. The system
included TV cameras mounted on glasses to send signals to the implant. Initially the
implant allowed Jerry to see shades of grey in a limited field of vision and at a low frame-
rate also requiring him to be hooked up to a two-ton mainframe. Shrinking electronics
and faster computers made his artificial eye more portable and allowed him to perform
simple tasks unassisted.
In 2002, Jens Neumann, also blinded in adulthood, became the first in a series of
16 paying patients to receive Dobelle’s second generation implant, marking one of the

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

earliest commercial uses of BCIs. The second generation device used a more
sophisticated implant enabling better mapping of phosphenes into coherent vision.
Phosphenes are spread out across the visual field in what researchers call the starry-night
effect. Immediately after his implant, Jens was able to use imperfectly restored vision to
drive slowly around the parking area of the research institute.
BCIs focusing on motor Neuroprosthetics aim to either restore movement in
paralyzed individuals or provide devices to assist them, such as interfaces with computers
or robot arms.
Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta led by Philip Kennedy and Roy Bakay
were first to install a brain implant in a human that produced signals of high enough
quality to stimulate movement. Their patient, Johnny Ray, suffered from ‘locked-in
syndrome’ after suffering a brain-stem stroke. Ray’s implant was installed in 1998 and he
lived long enough to start working with the implant, eventually learning to control a
computer cursor.
Tetraplegic Matt Nagle became the first person to control an artificial hand using
a BCI in 2005 as part of the nine-month human trail of cyber kinetics Neurotechnology’s
Brain gate chip-implant. Implanted in Nagle’s right precentral
gyrus(area of the motor cortex for arm movement), the 96 electrode Brain gate implant
allowed Nagle to control a robotic arm by thinking about moving his hand as well as a
computer cursor, lights and TV.

5.3 Partially Invasive BCI:

Partially invasive BCI devices are implanted inside the skull but rest outside the
brain rather than amidst the grey matter. They produce better resolution signals than non-
invasive BCIs where the bone tissue of the cranium deflects and deforms signals and have
a lower risk of forming scar-tissue in the brain than fully-invasive BCIs.
Electrocardiography (ECoG) uses the same technology as non-invasive
electroencephalography, but the electrodes are embedded in a thin plastic pad that is
placed above the cortex, beneath the Dura mater. ECoG technologies were first traled in
humans in 2004 by Eric Leuthardt and Daniel Moran from Washington University in St
Louis. In a later trial, the researchers enabled a teenage boy to play Space Invaders using
his ECoG implant. This research indicates that it is difficult to produce kinematics BCI
devices with more than one dimension of control using ECoG.

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

Light Reactive Imaging BCI devices are still in the realm of theory. These would
involve implanting laser inside the skull. The laser would be trained on a single neuron
and the neuron’s reflectance measured by a separate sensor. When neuron fires, The laser
light pattern and wavelengths it reflects would change slightly. This would allow
researchers to monitor single neurons but require less contact with tissue and reduce the
risk of scar-tissue build up.

5.4 Non-Invasive BCI:

As well as invasive experiments, there have also been experiments in humans
using non-invasive neuroimaging technologies as interfaces. Signals recorded in this way
have been used to power muscle implants and restore partial movement in an
experimental volunteer. Although they are easy to wear, non-invasive implants produce
poor signal resolution because the skull dampens signals, dispersing and blurring the
electromagnetic waves created by the neurons. Although the waves can still be detected it
is more difficult to determine the area of the brain that created them or the actions of
individual neurons.

Fig 5.2: Recordings of brainwaves produced by an electroencephalogram

Electroencephalography (EEG) is the most studied potential non-invasive

interface, mainly due to its fine temporal resolutions, ease of use, portability and low set-
up cost. But as well as the technology's susceptibility to noise, another substantial barrier
to using EEG as a brain-computer interface is the extensive training required before users
can work the technology. For example, in experiments beginning in the mid-1990s, Niels
Birbaumer of the University of Tübingen in Germany used EEG recordings of slow
cortical potential to give paralysed patients limited control over a computer cursor.
(Birbaumer had earlier trained epileptics to prevent impending fits by controlling this low
voltage wave.) The experiment saw ten patients trained to move a computer cursor by

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

controlling their brainwaves. The process was slow, requiring more than an hour for
patients to write 100 characters with the cursor, while training often took many months.
Another research parameter is the type of waves measured. Birbaumer's later
research with Jonathan Wolpaw at New York State University has focused on developing
technology that would allow users to choose the brain signals they found easiest to
operate a BCI, including mu and beta waves.
A further parameter is the method of feedback used and this is shown in studies of
P300 signals. Patterns of P300 waves are generated involuntarily (stimulus-feedback)
when people see something they recognizes and may allow BCIs to decode categories of
thoughts without training patients first. By contrast, the biofeedback methods described
above require learning to control brainwaves so the resulting brain activity can be
detected. In 2000, for example, research by Jessica Bayliss at the University of Rochester
showed that volunteers wearing virtual reality helmets could control elements in a virtual
world using their P300 EEG readings, including turning lights on and off and bringing a
mock-up car to a stop.
In 1999, researchers at Case Western Reserve University led by Hunter Peckham,
used 64-electrode EEG skullcap to return limited hand movements to quadriplegic Jim
Jatich. As Jatich concentrated on simple but opposite concepts like up and down, his beta-
rhythm EEG output was analysed using software to identify patterns in the noise. A basic
pattern was identified and used to control a switch: Above average activity was set to on,
below average off. As well as enabling Jatich to control a computer cursor the signals
were also used to drive the nerve controllers embedded in his hands, restoring some
movement.
Electronic neural-networks have been deployed which shift the learning phase
from the user to the computer. Experiments by scientists at the Fraunhofer Society in
2004 using neural networks led to noticeable improvements within 30 minutes of training.
Experiments by Eduardo Miranda aim to use EEG recordings of mental activity
associated with music to allow the disabled to express themselves musically through an
encephalophone.
Magneto encephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) have both been used successfully as non-invasive BCIs. In a widely reported
experiment, fMRI allowed two users being scanned to play Pong in real-time by altering
their homodynamic response or brain blood flow through biofeedback techniques. fMRI

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

measurements of homodynamic responses in real time have also been used to control
robot arms with a seven second delay between thought and movement.

5.5 Prominent research successes

Phillip Kennedy and colleagues built the first intracortical brain-computer
interface by implanting neurotrophic-cone electrodes into monkeys.

Fig 5.3: Garrett Stanley's recordings of cat vision using a BCI implanted in the lateral geniculate
nucleus (top row: original image; bottom row: recording)

In 1999, researchers led by Garrett Stanley at Harvard University decoded

neuronal firings to reproduce images seen by cats. The team used an array of electrodes
embedded in the thalamus (which integrates all of the brain’s sensory input) of sharp-
eyed cats. Researchers targeted 177 brain cells in the thalamus lateral geniculate nucleus
area, which decodes signals from the retina. The cats were shown eight short movies, and
their neuron firings were recorded. Using mathematical filters, the researchers decoded
the signals to generate movies of what the cats saw and were able to reconstruct
recognizable scenes and moving objects.
Miguel Nicolelis has been a prominent proponent of using multiple electrodes
spread over a greater area of the brain to obtain neuronal signals to drive a BCI. Such
neural ensembles are said to reduce the variability in output produced by single
electrodes, which could make it difficult to operate a BCI.
After conducting initial studies in rats during the 1990s, Nicolelis and his
colleagues developed BCIs that decoded brain activity in owl monkeys and used the
devices to reproduce monkey movements in robotic arms. Monkeys have advanced
reaching and grasping abilities and good hand manipulation skills, making them ideal test
subjects for this kind of work.

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

By 2000, the group succeeded in building a BCI that reproduced owl monkey
movements while the monkey operated a joystick or reached for food. The BCI operated
in real time and could also control a separate robot remotely over Internet protocol. But
the monkeys could not see the arm moving and did not receive any feedback, a so-called
open-loop BCI.

Fig 5.4: Diagram of the BCI developed by Miguel Nicolelis and colleagues for use on Rhesus
monkeys.

Later experiments by Nicolelis using rhesus monkeys, succeeded in closing the

feedback loop and reproduced monkey reaching and grasping movements in a robot arm.
With their deeply cleft and furrowed brains, rhesus monkeys are considered to be better
models for human neurophysiology than owl monkeys. The monkeys were trained to
reach and grasp objects on a computer screen by manipulating a joystick while
corresponding movements by a robot arm were hidden. The monkeys were later shown
the robot directly and learned to control it by viewing its movements. The BCI used
velocity predictions to control reaching movements and simultaneously predicted hand
gripping force.
Other labs that develop BCIs and algorithms that decode neuron signals include
John Donoghue from Brown University, Andrew Schwartz from the University of
Pittsburgh and Richard Andersen from Caltech. These researchers were able to produce

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

working BCIs even though they recorded signals from far fewer neurons than Nicolelis
(15–30 neurons versus 50–200 neurons).
Donoghue's group reported training rhesus monkeys to use a BCI to track visual
targets on a computer screen with or without assistance of a joystick (closed-loop
BCI).Schwartz's group created a BCI for three-dimensional tracking in virtual reality and
also reproduced BCI control in a robotic arm. The group created headlines when they
demonstrated that a monkey could feed itself pieces of zucchini using a robotic arm
powered by the animal's own brain signals.
Andersen's group used recordings of premovement activity from the posterior
parietal cortex in their BCI, including signals created when experimental animals
anticipated receiving a reward.
In addition to predicting kinematic and kinetic parameters of limb movements,
BCIs that predict electromyographic or electrical activity of muscles are being developed.
Such BCIs could be used to restore mobility in paralysed limbs by electrically stimulating
muscles.

5.6 Cell-culture BCIs

Researchers have also built devices to interface with neural cells and entire neural
networks in cultures outside animals. As well as furthering research on animal
implantable devices, experiments on cultured neural tissue have focused on building
problem-solving networks, constructing basic computers and manipulating robotic
devices. Research into techniques for stimulating and recording from individual neurons
grown on semiconductor chips is sometimes referred to as neuroelectronics or neurochips.

Fig 5.5: World first: Neurochip

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

Development of the first working neurochip was claimed by a Caltech team led by
Jerome Pine and Michael Maher in 1997. The Caltech chip had room for 16 neurons.
In 2003, a team led by Theodore Berger at the University of Southern California
started work on a neurochip designed to function as an artificial or prosthetic
hippocampus. The neurochip was designed to function in rat brains and is intended as a
prototype for the eventual development of higher-brain prosthesis. The hippocampus was
chosen because it is thought to be the most ordered and structured part of the brain and is
the most studied area. Its function is to encode experiences for storage as long-term
memories elsewhere in the brain.
Thomas DeMarse at the University of Florida used a culture of 25,000 neurons
taken from a rat's brain to fly a F-22 fighter jet aircraft simulator. After collection, the
cortical neurons were cultured in a Petri dish and rapidly begin to reconnect themselves to
form a living neural network. The cells were arranged over a grid of 60 electrodes and
trained to control the pitch and yaw functions of the simulator. The study's focus was on
understanding how the human brain performs and learns computational tasks at a cellular
level.

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

6. BLOCK DIAGRAM

Fig 6: BCI Block Diagram

6.1 Block Description

The BMI consists of several components:

1.The implant device, or chronic multi-electrode array

2.The signal recording and processing section
3. An external device the subject uses to produce and control motion
4.A feedback section to the subject.

The first component is an implanted array of microelectrodes into the frontal and
parietal lobes—areas of the brain involved in producing multiple output commands to
control complex muscle movements. This device record action potentials of individual
neurons and then represent the neural signal using a rate code .The second component
consists of spike detection algorithms, neural encoding and decoding systems, data
acquisition and real time processing systems etc .A high performance dsp architecture is
used for this purpose. The external device that the subject uses may be a robotic arm, a

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

wheel chair etc. depending upon the application. Feedback is an important factor in
BCI’s. In the BCI’s based on the operant conditioning approach, feedback training is
essential for the user to acquire the control of his or her EEG response. However,
feedback can speed up the learning process and improve performance.

6.2 BMI Components

A brain-machine interface (BMI) in its scientific interpretation is a combination of
several hardware and software components trying to enable its user to communicate with
a computer by intentionally altering his or her brain waves. The task of the hardware part
is to record the brainwaves– in the form of the EEG signal – of a human subject, and the
software has to analyze that data. In other words, the hardware consists of an EEG
machine and a number of electrodes scattered over the subject’s skull. The EEG machine,
which is connected to the electrodes via thin wires, records the brain-electrical activity of
the subject, yielding a multi-dimensional (analog or digital) output. The values in each
dimension (also called channel) represent the relative differences in the voltage potential
measured at two electrode sites.
The software system has to read, digitize (in the case of an analog EEG machine),
and preprocess the EEG data (separately for each channel), “understand” the subject’s
intentions, and generate appropriate output. To interpret the data, the stream of EEG
values is cut into successive segments, transformed into a standardized representation,
and processed with the help of a classifier. There are several different possibilities for the
realization of a classifier; one approach – involving the use of an artificial neural network
(ANN)– has become the method of choice in recent years.

Fig 6.2. A BMI based on the classification of two mental tasks.

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

The user is thinking task number 2 and the BCI classifies it correctly and provides
feedback in the form of cursor movement.
Now the BMI components are described as follows:

6.2.1 Implant Device

The EEG is recorded with electrodes, which are placed on the scalp. Electrodes
are small plates, which conduct electricity. They provide the electrical contact between
the skin and the EEG recording apparatus by transforming the ionic current on the skin to
the electrical current in the wires. To improve the stability of the signal, the outer layer of
the skin called stratum corneum should be at least partly removed under the electrode.
Electrolyte gel is applied between the electrode and the skin in order to provide good
electrical contact.

Fig 11: An array of microelectrodes

Usually small metal-plate electrodes are used in the EEG recording. Neural
implants can be used to regulate electric signals in the brain and restore it to equilibrium.
The implants must be monitored closely because there is a potential for almost anything
when introducing foreign signals into the brain.
There are a few major problems that must be addressed when developing neural
implants. These must be made out of biocompatible material or insulated with
biocompatible material that the body won’t reject and isolate. They must be able to move
inside the skull with the brain without causing any damage to the brain. The implant must
be chemically inert so that it doesn’t interact with the hostile environment inside the
human body. All these factors must be addressed in the case of neural implants; otherwise
it will stop sending useful information after a short period of time.
There are simple single wire electrodes with a number of different coatings to
complex three-dimensional arrays of electrodes, which are encased in insulating

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

biomaterials. Implant rejection and isolation is a problem that is being addressed by

developing biocompatible materials to coat or incase the implant.
One option among the biocompatible materials is Teflon coating that protects the
implant from the body. Another option is a cell resistant synthetic polymer like polyvinyl
alcohol. To keep the implant from moving in the brain it is necessary to have a flexible
electrode that will move with the brain inside the skull. This can make it difficult to
implant the electrode. Dipping the micro device in polyethylene glycol, which causes the
device to become less flexible, can solve this problem. Once in contact with the tissue this
coating quickly dissolves. This allows easy implantation of a very flexible implant.
Three-dimensional arrays of electrodes are also under development. These devices
are constructed as two-dimensional sheet and then bent to form 3D array. These can be
constructed using a polymer substrate that is then fitted with metal leads. They are
difficult to implement, but give a much great range of stimulation or sensing than simple
ones.

Fig12: Block diagram of the neurotrophic electrodes for implantation in human patients
.
A microscopic glass cone contains a neurotrophic factor that induces neurites to
grow into the cone, where they contact one of several gold recording wires. Neurites that
are induced to grow into the glass cone make highly stable contacts with recording wires.
Signal conditioning and telemetric electronics are fully implanted under the skin of the
scalp. An implanted transmitter (TX) sends signals to an external receiver (RX), which is
connected to a computer.

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

6.2.2 Signal Processing Section

Multichannel Acquisition Systems
Electrodes interface directly to the non-inverting opamp inputs on each channel.
At this section amplification, initial filtering of EEG signal and possible artifact removal
takes place. Also A/D conversion is made, i.e. the analog EEG signal is digitized. The
voltage gain improves the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by reducing the relevance of
electrical noise incurred in later stages. Processed signals are time-division multiplexed
and sampled.

Fig 13: A BMI under design.

Spike Detection
Real time spike detection is an important requirement for developing brain
machine interfaces. Incorporating spike detection will allow the BMI to transmit only the
action potential waveforms and their respective arrival times instead of the sparse, raw
signal in its entirety.
This compression reduces the transmitted data rate per channel, thus increasing
the number of channels that may be monitored simultaneously. Spike detection can
further reduce the data rate if spike counts are transmitted instead of spike waveforms.
Spike detection will also be a necessary first step for any future hardware implementation
of an autonomous spike sorter. Figure 6 shows its implementation using an application-
specific integrated circuit (ASIC) with limited computational resources. A low power
implantable ASIC for detecting and transmitting neural spikes will be an important
building block for BMIs. A hardware realization of a spike detector in a wireless BMI

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BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE 2010-11

must operate in real-time, be fully autonomous, and function at realistic signal-to- noise
ratios (SNRs).
An implanted ASIC conditions signal from extra cellular neural electrodes,
digitizes them, and then detects AP spikes. The spike waveforms are transmitted across
the skin to a BMI processor, which sorts the spikes and then generates the command
signals for the prosthesis.

Signal Analysis
Feature extraction and classification of EEG are dealt in this section. In this stage,
certain features are extracted from the preprocessed and digitized EEG signal. In the
simplest form a certain frequency range is selected and the amplitude relative to some
reference level measured . Typically the features are frequency content of the EEG signal)
can be calculated using, for example, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT function). No matter
what features are used, the goal is to form distinct set of features for each mental task. If
the feature sets representing mental tasks overlap each other too much, it is very difficult
to classify mental tasks, no matter how good a classifier is used. On the other hand, if the
feature sets are distinct enough, any classifier can classify them. The features extracted in
the previous stage are the input for the classifier.
The classifier can be anything from a simple linear model to a complex nonlinear
neural network that can be trained to recognize different mental tasks. Nowadays real
time processing is used widely. Realtime applications provide an action or an answer to
an external event in a timely and predictable manner. So by using this type of system we
can get output nearly at the same time it receives input. Telemetry is handled by a
wearable computer. The host station accepts the data via either a wireless access point or
its own dedicated radio card.

6.2.3 External Device

The classifier’s output is the input for the device control. The device control
simply transforms the classification to a particular action. The action can be, e.g., an up or
down movement of a cursor on the feedback screen or a selection of a letter in a writing
application. However, if the classification was “nothing” or “reject”, no action is
performed, although the user may be informed about the rejection. It is the device that
subject produce and control motion. Examples are robotic arm, thought controlled wheel
chair etc

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6.2.4 Feedback
Real-time feedback can dramatically improve the performance of a brain–machine
interface. Feedback is needed for learning and for control. Real-time feedback can
dramatically improve the performance of a brain–machine interface. In the brain,
feedback normally allows for two corrective mechanisms. One is the ‘online’ control and
correction of errors during the execution of a movement. The other is learning: the
gradual adaptation of motor commands, which takes place after the execution of one or
more movements.
In the BMIs based on the operant conditioning approach, feedback training is
essential for the user to acquire the control of his or her EEG response. The BMIs based
on the pattern recognition approach and using mental tasks do not definitely require
feedback training. However, feedback can speed up the learning process and improve
performance. Cursor control has been the most popular type of feedback in BMIs.
Feedback can have many different effects, some of them beneficial and some harmful.
Feedback used in BMIs has similarities with biofeedback, especially EEG biofeedback.

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7. BCI APPLICATIONS

7.1. Introduction
After we go through the various techniques of BCI the first question that comes to
our mind is, what does BCI do to us and what are its applications. So BCI in today’s time
turns useful to us in many ways. Whether it be any medical field or a field leading to
enhancement of human environment.
Some of the BCI applications are discussed below.

7.2. The Mental Typewriter:

March 14, 2006 Scientists demonstrated a brain-computer interface that translates
brain signals into computer control signals this week at CeBIT in Berlin. The initial
project demonstrates how a paralysed patient could communicate by using a mental
typewriter alone – without touching the keyboard. In the case of serious accident or
illness, a patient’s limbs can be paralyzed, severely restricting communication with the
outside world. The interface is already showing how it can help these patients to write
texts and thus communicate with their environment. There’s also a PONG game
(computer tennis) used to demonstrate how the interface can be used. Brain Pong involves
two BBCI users playing a game of teletennis in which the “rackets” are controlled by
imagining movements and predictably the general media has focused the majority of its
attention on computer gaming applications but BCCI could equally be used in safety
technologies (e.g. in automobiles for monitoring cognitive driver stress), in controlling
prostheses, wheelchairs, instruments and even machinery.
On the first day of the 2006 CeBIT Computer Fair, Fraunhofer FIRST and the
Berlin Charité demonstrated how the mental typewriter could be used for this purpose. On
the other days of the CeBIT Fair, a simulated test setup using a shop-window dummy will
be on display.
Cooperation between Fraunhofer FIRST and the Charité to develop an interface
between the human brain and the computer began some years ago. The result was the
Berlin Brain-Computer Interface (BBCI which uses the electrical activity of the brain in
the form of an electroencephalogram (EEG). Electrodes attached to the scalp measure the
brain’s electrical signals. These are then amplified and transmitted to the computer, which
converts them into technical control signals. The principle behind the BBCI is that the

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activity of the brain already reflects the purely mental conception of a particular behavior,
e.g. the idea of moving a hand or foot.
The BBCI recognizes the corresponding changes in brain activity and uses them,
say, to choose between two alternatives: one involves imagining that the left hand is
moved, the other that the right hand is moved. This enables a cursor, for example, to be
moved to the left or right. The person operating the mental typewriter uses the cursor to
select a letters field. The next step reduces the choice, and after a few more steps we
arrive at the individual letters, which can be used to write words. This process enables
simple sentences to be constructed within minutes. A first prototype of the mental
typewriter is currently available. In a series of experiments, different spelling methods are
tested in terms of their usability and are adapted to the BBCI. It will be some years,
though, before the mental typewriter can be used in everyday applications. Further
research is needed, in particular to refine the EEG sensors.

7.3. BCI offers paralyzed patients improved quality of life:

Tubingen, Germany. A brain–computer interface installed early enough in patients
with neuron-destroying diseases can enable them to be taught to communicate through an
electronic device and slow destruction of the nervous system.
Fundamental theories regarding consciousness, emotion and quality of life in
sufferers of paralysis from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, also known as 'Lou
Gehrig’s disease') are being challenged based on new research on brain-computer
interaction. ALS is a progressive disease that destroys neurons affecting movement.
The study appears in the latest issue of Psychophysiology. The article reviews the
usefulness of currently available brain-computer –interfaces (BCI), which use brain
activity to communicate through external devices, such as computers.
The research focuses on a condition called the completely locked-in state (CLIS, a
total lack of muscle control). In a CLIS situation, intentional thoughts and imagery can
rarely be acted upon physically and, therefore, are rarely followed by a stimulus. The
research suggests that as the disease progresses and the probability for an external event
to function as a link between response and consequence becomes progressively smaller it
may eventually vanish altogether.
Researchers have found that by implementing a brain-computer –interface before
the completely locked-in state occurs, a patient can be taught to communicate through an

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electronic device with great regularity. The continued interaction between thought,
response and consequence is believed to slow the destruction of the nervous system.
The findings are also raising a number of new questions about the quality of life amongst
paralysis sufferers. Patients surveyed were found to be much healthier mentally than
psychiatrically depressed patients without any life-threatening bodily disease. Only 9% of
ALS patients showed long episodes of depression and most were during the period
following diagnosis and a period of weeks after tracheotomy.
“Most instruments measuring depression and quality of life are invalid for
paralyzed people living in protected environments because most of the questions do not
apply to the life of a paralyzed person. Special instruments had to be developed,” says
Niels Birbaumer, PhD., Author of the study.

The BMI technologies of today can be broken into three major areas:
1. Auditory and visual prosthesis
- Cochlear implants
- Brainstem implants
- Synthetic vision
- Artificial silicon retina

2. Functional-neuromuscular stimulation (FNS)

- FNS systems are in experimental use in cases where spinal cord damage or a
stroke has severed the link between brain and the peripheral nervous system.
They can use brain to control their own limbs by this system

3. Prosthetic limb control

- Thought controlled motorized wheel chair.
- Thought controlled prosthetic arm for amputee.
- Various neuroprosthetic devices

Other various applications are Mental Mouse Applications in technology products,

e.g., a mobile phone attachment that allows a physically challenged user to dial a phone
number without touching it or speaking into it. System lets you speak without saying a
word In effective construction of unmanned systems, in space missions, defense areas etc.

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NASA and DARPA has used this technology effectively. Communication over internet
can be modified.

Fig 14: Robotic application of BCI

One of the most exciting areas of BCI research is the development of devices that
can be controlled by thoughts. Some of the applications of this technology may seem
frivolous, such as the ability to control a video game by thought. If you think a remote
control is convenient, imagine changing channels with your mind.
However, there's a bigger picture -- devices that would allow severely disabled
people to function independently. For a quadriplegic, something as basic as controlling a
computer cursor via mental commands would represent a revolutionary improvement in
quality of life. But how do we turn those tiny voltage measurements into the movement of
a robotic arm?
Early research used monkeys with implanted electrodes. The monkeys used a
joystick to control a robotic arm. Scientists measured the signals coming from the
electrodes. Eventually, they changed the controls so that the robotic arm was being
controlled only by the signals coming form the electrodes, not the joystick.

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A more difficult task is interpreting the brain signals for movement in someone
who can't physically move their own arm. With a task like that, the subject must "train" to
use the device. With an EEG or implant in place, the subject would visualize closing his
or her right hand. After many trials, the software can learn the signals associated with the
thought of hand-closing. Software connected to a robotic hand is programmed to receive
the "close hand" signal and interpret it to mean that the robotic hand should close. At that
point, when the subject thinks about closing the hand, the signals are sent and the robotic
hand closes.
A similar method is used to manipulate a computer cursor, with the subject
thinking about forward, left, right and back movements of the cursor. With enough
practice, users can gain enough control over a cursor to draw a circle, access computer
programs and control a TV [source: Ars Technica]. It could theoretically be expanded to
allow users to "type" with their thoughts.
Once the basic mechanism of converting thoughts to computerized or robotic
action is perfected, the potential uses for the technology are almost limitless. Instead of a
robotic hand, disabled users could have robotic braces attached to their own limbs,
allowing them to move and directly interact with the environment. This could even be
accomplished without the "robotic" part of the device. Signals could be sent to the
appropriate motor control nerves in the hands, bypassing a damaged section of the spinal
cord and allowing actual movement of the subject's own hands.

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8. ADVANTAGES

Depending on how the technology is used, there are good and bad effects
1.In this era where drastic diseases are getting common it is a boon if we can develop it to
its full potential.
2.Also it provides better living, more features, more advancement in technologies etc.
3. Linking people via chip implants to super intelligent machines seems to a natural
progression –creating in effect, super humans.
4. Linking up in this way would allow for computer intelligence to be hooked more
directly into the brain, allowing immediate access to the internet, enabling phenomenal
math capabilities and computer memory.
5.By this humans get gradual co-evolution with computers.

9. CHALLENGES

Fig 15: Two people in Germany use a brain-computer interface to write "how are you?"

1.Connecting to the nervous system could lead to permanent brain damage, resulting in
the loss of feelings or movement, or continual pain.
2.In the networked brain condition –what will mean to be human?
3.Virus attacks may occur to brain causing ill effects.

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10. FUTURE EXPANSION

A new thought-communication device might soon help severely disabled people

get their independence by allowing them to steer a wheelchair with their mind. Mind-
machine interfaces will be available in the near future, and several methods hold promise
for implanting information. . Linking people via chip implants to super intelligent
machines seems to a natural progression –creating in effect, super humans. These cyborgs
will be one step ahead of humans. And just as humans have always valued themselves
above other forms of life, it is likely that cyborgs look down on humans who have yet to
‘evolve’.
Will people want to have their heads opened and wired? Technology moves in
light speed now. In that accelerated future, today’s hot neural interface could become
tomorrow’s neuro trash. Will you need to learn any math if you can call up a computer
merely by your thoughts? Thought communication will place telephones firmly in the
history books.

11. CONCLUSION

Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) is a method of communication based on

voluntary neural activity generated by the brain and independent of its normal output
pathways of peripheral nerves and muscles.
The neural activity used in BCI can be recorded using invasive or noninvasive
techniques. We can say as detection techniques and experimental designs improve, the
BCI will improve as well and would provide wealth alternatives for individuals to interact
with their environment.

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12. REFERENCES

1. www.nicolelislab.net/NLnet_Load.html
2. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-cpcoIJbOU
3. www.en.wikipedia.com/braincomputerinterface
4. www.betterhumans.com
5. www.popsci.com
6. www.ele.uri.edu
7. www.duke.edu
8. www.brainlab.org
9. www.howstuffworks.com

Dept., of CSE, 30 CIT, Gubbi