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EEG-Based Asynchronous BCI Controls Functional Electrical Stimulation in a Tetraplegic Patient

Abstract

The present study reports on the use of an EEG-based asynchronous (uncued, user-driven) brain-computer interface (BCI) for the control of functional electrical stimulation (FES). By the application of FES, noninvasive restoration of hand grasp function in a tetraplegic patient was achieved. The patient was able to induce bursts of beta oscillations by imagination of foot movement. These beta oscillations were recorded in a one EEG-channel configuration, bandpass filtered and squared. When this beta activity exceeded a predefined threshold, a trigger for the FES was generated. Whenever the trigger was detected, a subsequent switching of a grasp sequence composed of 4 phases occurred. The patient was able to grasp a glass with the paralyzed hand completely on his own without additional help or other technical aids.

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Correspondence to Gert Pfurtscheller.

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Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Pfurtscheller, G., Müller-Putz, G.R., Pfurtscheller, J. et al. EEG-Based Asynchronous BCI Controls Functional Electrical Stimulation in a Tetraplegic Patient. EURASIP J. Adv. Signal Process. 2005, 628453 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1155/ASP.2005.3152

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/ASP.2005.3152

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