Low-Cost Portable Brain-Computer Interface

Project Description:
There are over 8 million people in the US alone living with chronic stroke. There are approximately 800,000 new cases of stroke in the US every year. These patients are often left with paralysis which leads to significant disability. Currently, no satisfactory biomedical solutions exist to reverse the resulting loss of motor function. Alternative biomechanical approaches have been pursued with limited success. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) may provide one method by which to help restore movement after stroke. BCIs are systems which record brain-signals and translate them into control signals – essentially enabling “brain-control” of external devices. Current BCI systems are typically large and expensive and involve a significant number of components. For such systems to become practical, the systems must be made to be low cost, portable, and user-friendly.

The aim of this project is to design, implement, and test a low-cost, portable brain-computer interface with user friendly interface. The BCI system is envisioned to be designed as a special purpose embedded system (consisting of an amplifier array, processing unit, user interface system), an easy to wear brain electrode system, and an end effector component which actuates the intended movements, as detected by the BCI.

Project Mentor:
Physician Mentor: An Do MD, Department of Neurology, UCI, and@uci.edu
Industry Sponsored Engineering Mentor: Ahmad Abiri, Chief Executive Officer, Pulse Med Inc., aabiri@pulsemedinc.com

Team Members:

Jorge Angon, Thomas Michael Kaufman, Ngoc Mai, Tyler David Mcnally, Madison Maya Miller, Alex Parivar