EEG-Based Brain–Computer Interfaces for Communication and Rehabilitation of People with Motor Impairment: A Novel Approach of the 21st Century

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) offer a promising solution for people with motor impairments, enabling communication and rehabilitative therapy by translating brain signals into commands for external devices. BCI systems record brain activity using techniques like EEG, and extract useful signals to control devices, allowing individuals to communicate and interact with the environment without using their peripheral nervous system and muscles. EEG-based BCI systems use different EEG modalities like slow cortical potentials (SCPs), sensorimotor rhythms (SMR), and P300 potentials to promote communication, environmental control, and rehabilitation based on different EEG signals.

• 1
  EEG-based BCI systems show potential for clinical use in helping paralyzed individuals control neuroprostheses, wheelchairs, and electrical appliances for communication and rehabilitation.
• 2
  BCI systems using slow cortical potentials (SCPs) require user training to shift the polarity of their SCPs for communication, enabling users to select letters, words, or pictograms.
• 3
  Sensorimotor rhythm (SMR)-based BCI systems allow individuals with neuromuscular disorders to modulate their SMR for communication and control, often through motor imagery, though they require extensive training.