Use of EEG technology with based brain-computer interface to address amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-ALS

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also stated as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” is an advanced neurodegenerative disease that disturbs motor nerve cells in the brain and in the spinal cord. Motor neurons act a message carrier starts from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the all the muscles throughout the body. There are about 40 million ALS patients in the world, and it mostly affects patients of age (40–70). An early symptom is a painless, weakness in a limb, difficulty with speech and difficulty in walking. However, this weakness quickly extends to other parts of the body, producing progressive paralysis of the trunk and diaphragm, at that point patients may elect to have a tracheotomy so their lungs can be ventilated mechanically. This research is about suggesting a solution for ALS patients using EEG brain-computer interface (BCI), bionics and Emotiv system through smart phone application for their basic communication. It is aimed to help the ALS patients to control their environment and to communicate with their family members or care givers via computer interface.