Brain–Computer Interfaces - Index of

Brain–Computer Interfaces for Communication and Control in Locked-in Patients 195
the BCI at the patient’s bedside damage cannot be avoided. Caregivers perform
their duties and handle medical equipment in close vicinity of the patient. While
pulling the bed sheets for example, one can also easily pull some cables of the
electrodes. Or, while washing the patient’s hair after training (most patients stay in
bed while this happens!), water might easily drip on the amplifier. Thus, the second
requirement of a BCI system for patients’ homes is that it is robust.
When J. has returned, we start adjusting the computer screen so that it is on
his eye height. When patients are in a wheelchair they often sit higher than people
on a normal chair and cannot always move their head such that they can see the
screen. When the neck is also paralyzed, the head of a patient is often attached
to the back of the wheel chair to prevent it from dropping down (something that
happened with J. during run 7; see protocol in Fig. 3). Fortunately, J. has many
board game boxes lying around and we use them to put under the screen. At the
house of Ursula Broermann, we use encyclopaedias (see Fig. 2). For some patients
who are bed-ridden, it would be useful to attach the computer screen above their bed
facing down. The third requirement of a BCI system at the home of patients is that it
is compact, so that you can carry it around easily and put it on strange places like
game board boxes. In addition, the cables attached to the monitor, the electrode cap
and the computer should be long, because one never knows where you can put the
system. The direct space around a typical ALS patient is already filled with many
technical devices.
Fig. 2 Dr. Ursula Broermann sitting in front of the BCI computer screen (supported by encyclopaedias).
On the left one can see the patient in a wheel chair with the electrode cap on. The
wheelchair is slightly tilted to the back to stabilize the head into the chair. This way, the head does
not need to be supported with a head band, which would influence the signal quality. Beside the
wheelchair, in the middle of the picture, on can see the artificial ventilation machine. The amplifier
is sitting on a chair besides the patient (no visible in this picture)