02865nas a2200301 4500008004100000022001400041245009000055210006900145260001200214300001400226490000700240520184800247653003402095653003002129653001802159653002702177653001102204653003202215100002902247700001902276700002602295700002502321700003202346700002502378700002102403700002102424856011802445 2020 eng d a1558-021000aEnhancing Communication for People in Late-Stage ALS Using an fNIRS-Based BCI System.0 aEnhancing Communication for People in LateStage ALS Using an fNI c05/2020 a1198-12070 v283 a

OBJECTIVE: Brain-computer interface (BCI) based communication remains a challenge for people with later-stage amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who lose all voluntary muscle control. Although recent studies have demonstrated the feasibility of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to successfully control BCIs primarily for healthy cohorts, these systems are yet inefficient for people with severe motor disabilities like ALS. In this study, we developed a new fNIRS-based BCI system in concert with a single-trial Visuo-Mental (VM) paradigm to investigate the feasibility of enhanced communication for ALS patients, particularly those in the later stages of the disease.

METHODS: In the first part of the study, we recorded data from six ALS patients using our proposed protocol (fNIRS-VM) and compared the results with the conventional electroencephalography (EEG)-based multi-trial P3Speller (P3S). In the second part, we recorded longitudinal data from one patient in the late locked-in state (LIS) who had fully lost eye-gaze control. Using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) and correlation analysis, the optimal channels and hemodynamic features were selected and used in linear discriminant analysis (LDA).

RESULTS: Over all the subjects, we obtained an average accuracy of 81.3%±5.7% within comparatively short times (< 4 sec) in the fNIRS-VM protocol relative to an average accuracy of 74.0%±8.9% in the P3S, though not competitive in patients with no substantial visual problems. Our longitudinal analysis showed substantially superior accuracy using the proposed fNIRS-VM protocol (73.2%±2.0%) over the P3S (61.8%±1.5%).

SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings indicate the potential efficacy of our proposed system for communication and control for late-stage ALS patients.

10aAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis10abrain-computer interfaces10aCommunication10aElectroencephalography10aHumans10aSpectroscopy, Near-Infrared1 aBorgheai, Seyyed, Bahram1 aMcLinden, John1 aZisk, Alyssa, Hillary1 aHosni, Sarah, Ismail1 aDeligani, Roohollah, Jafari1 aAbtahi, Mohammadreza1 aMankodiya, Kunal1 aShahriari, Yalda uhttps://neurotechcenter.org/publications/2020/enhancing-communication-people-late-stage-als-using-fnirs-based-bci