A P300 Brain Computer Interface to Operate Power Wheelchair Tilt

University of Michigan16 enrolled

Overview

The investigators want to develop a brain-computer interface (BCI) that will eventually allow people who are completely paralyzed to independently control the tilt feature on their power wheelchairs. This study will allow healthy volunteers to test the feasibility and accuracy of controlling a BCI using only their brain signals while seated in a tilting wheelchair.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Healthy Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Interventions

Using a BCI to control wheelchair tiltDEVICE

Subjects will wear an EEG cap for 1-4 hours (1-2 hours typical) during each session and use a P300 based BCI to type words and control wheelchair tilt. Subjects will be asked to participate in 3 sessions.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 99 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18 or older. * Able to read text on a computer screen * Able to understand and remember instructions concerning participation. Exclusion Criteria: * Unable give informed consent. * Unable to understand and follow instructions. * Have abnormal tone or uncontrolled movements in the head-and-neck that would interfere with EEG recordings. * Known to have photosensitive epilepsy. * Open head lesions or sores.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

The Accuracy of BCI Typing While Tilting in a Power Wheelchair and While Sitting Still in a Power Wheelchair.

Subjects will participate in 3 sessions. During each session each subject will copy a "word" in each of 3 conditions (no-movement, self-movement, continuous movement) by typing using only brainwaves. For the no-movement condition, the wheelchair seat remains in a fixed position. For the self-movement condition, the angle of the wheelchair seat changes in response to some of the selections made with the brain-computer interface. For the continuous movement condition, the angle of the wheelchair seat moves continuously. Changes in the wheelchair's position may affect spelling accuracy. The accuracy of the subject's copy spelling of the designated word will be measured for each condition in each session. The order of the conditions is balanced across the three days. The accuracy for each subject in each condition is presented as the average of the accuracies for that condition across the three days.

Time frame: 3 1-2 hour sessions over 2-4 weeks

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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