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A Human-Humanoid Interaction Through the Use of BCI for Locked-In ALS Patients Using Neuro-Biological Feedback Fusion.

Author
Abstract
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This paper illustrates a new architecture for a human-humanoid interaction based on EEG-brain computer interface (EEG-BCI) for patients affected by locked-in syndrome caused by Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The proposed architecture is able to recognise users' mental state accordingly to the biofeedback factor , based on users' attention, intention, and focus, that is used to elicit a robot to perform customised behaviours. Experiments have been conducted with a population of eight subjects: four ALS patients in a near locked-in status with normal ocular movement and four healthy control subjects enrolled for age, education, and computer expertise. The results showed as three ALS patients have completed the task with 96.67% success; the healthy controls with 100% success; the fourth ALS has been excluded from the results for his low general attention during the task; the analysis of factor highlights as ALS subjects have shown stronger (81.20%) than healthy controls (76.77%). Finally, a post-hoc analysis is provided to show how robotic feedback helps in maintaining focus on expected task. These preliminary data suggest that ALS patients could successfully control a humanoid robot through a BCI architecture, potentially enabling them to conduct some everyday tasks and extend their presence in the environment.

Year of Publication
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2018
Journal
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IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society
Volume
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26
Issue
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2
Number of Pages
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487-497
ISSN Number
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1534-4320
URL
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https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TNSRE.2017.2728140
DOI
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10.1109/TNSRE.2017.2728140
Short Title
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IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng
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