BCI-FES system for neuro-rehabilitation of stroke patients

Abstract

Nowadays, strokes are a growing cause of mortality and many people remain with motor sequelae and troubles in the daily activities. To treat this sequelae, alternative rehabilitation techniques are needed. In this article a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) system to control a Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) system is presented. It can be used as a novel tool in easy setup clinical routines, to improve the rehabilitation process by mean of detecting patient's motor intention, performing it by FES and finally receiving appropriate feedback The BCI-FES system presented here, consists of three blocks: the first one decodes the patient's intention and it is composed by the patient, the acquisition hardware and the processing software (Emotiv EPOC®). The second block, based on Arduino's technology, transforms the information into a valid command signal. The last one excites the patient's neuromuscular system by means of a FES device. In order to evaluate the cerebral activity sensed by the device, topographic maps were obtained. The BCI-FES system was able to detect the patient's motor intention and control the FES device. At the time of this publication, the system it's being employing in a rehabilitation program with patients post stroke.