Decoding brain signals to control a robotic arm

Decoding brain signals to control a robotic arm
Experimental paradigm. Subjects were instructed to perform reach-and-grasp movements to designate the locations of the target in three-dimensional space. (a) Subjects A and B were provided the visual cue as a real tennis ball at one of four pseudo-randomized locations. (b) Subjects A and B were provided the visual cue as a virtual reality clip showing a sequence of five stages of a reach-and-grasp movement. Credit: The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

Researchers have developed a mind-reading system for decoding neural signals from the brain during arm movement. The method, described in the journal Applied Soft Computing, can be used by a person to control a robotic arm through a brain-machine interface (BMI).

A BMI is a device that translates into commands to control a machine, such as a computer or a robotic limb. There are two main techniques for monitoring neural signals in BMIs: electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocorticography (ECoG).

The EEG exhibits signals from on the surface of the scalp and is widely employed because it is non-invasive, relatively cheap, safe and easy to use. However, the EEG has low spatial resolution and detects irrelevant neural signals, which makes it difficult to interpret the intentions of individuals from the EEG.

On the other hand, the ECoG is an that involves placing electrodes directly on the surface of the cerebral cortex below the scalp. Compared with the EEG, the ECoG can monitor neural signals with much higher spatial resolution and less background noise. However, this technique has several drawbacks.

"The ECoG is primarily used to find potential sources of , meaning the electrodes are placed in different locations for different patients and may not be in the optimal regions of the brain for detecting sensory and movement signals," explained Professor Jaeseung Jeong, a brain scientist at KAIST. "This inconsistency makes it difficult to decode brain signals to predict movements."

To overcome these problems, Professor Jeong's team developed a new method for decoding ECoG neural signals during . The system is based on a machine-learning system for analyzing and predicting neural signals called an "echo-state network" and a mathematical probability model called the Gaussian distribution.

In the study, the researchers recorded ECoG signals from four individuals with epilepsy while they were performing a reach-and-grasp task. Because the ECoG electrodes were placed according to the potential sources of each patient's epileptic seizures, only 22% to 44% of the electrodes were located in the regions of the brain responsible for controlling movement.

During the movement task, the participants were given , either by placing a real tennis ball in front of them, or via a showing a clip of a human arm reaching forward in first-person view. They were asked to reach forward, grasp an object, then return their hand and release the object, while wearing motion sensors on their wrists and fingers. In a second task, they were instructed to imagine reaching forward without moving their arms.

The researchers monitored the signals from the ECoG electrodes during real and imaginary arm movements, and tested whether the new system could predict the direction of this movement from the . They found that the novel decoder successfully classified arm movements in 24 directions in three-dimensional space, both in the real and virtual tasks, and that the results were at least five times more accurate than chance. They also used a computer simulation to show that the novel ECoG decoder could control the movements of a .

Overall, the results suggest that the new machine learning-based BCI system successfully used ECoG signals to interpret the direction of the intended movements. The next steps will be to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the decoder. In the future, it could be used in a real-time BMI device to help people with movement or sensory impairments.

More information: Hoon-Hee Kim et al, An electrocorticographic decoder for arm movement for brain–machine interface using an echo state network and Gaussian readout, Applied Soft Computing (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.asoc.2021.108393

Citation: Decoding brain signals to control a robotic arm (2022, March 18) retrieved 26 June 2024 from https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-decoding-brain-robotic-arm.html
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