EIT week43-2 Brain and Body Computer Interfaces

Brain and Body Computer Interfaces

Course Overview

• Course: Engineering Interactive Technologies
• Professor: Michael Wessely
• Institution: Interactive Matter Lab

1. Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs)

• Purpose: BCIs allow for direct interaction with computers using cognitive processes.
• Technologies for Sensing Thought:
  • fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging): Measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow. More neural activity make more oxygen in blood since oxygen rich and poor causes different magnetic properties. Good at detecting deep part of activities, and drawback is need hug set up and relatively limited at spatial and temporal resolution.
  • fNIRS (Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy): Assesses cognitive activity and cerebral blood flow. Same but different in optical properties, Good at its cheap and small setup, limited at the detection depth and depends on skin and sensor’s position.
  • EEG (Electroencephalography Morden focus): Monitors electrical activity of the brain through electrodes placed on the scalp.
• Applications: Enhancements in aiding people with disabilities, user interface evaluation, and entertainment.
• Challenges: Slow response times due to the complex nature of decoding brain signals.
  • electrodes, one electrode = one pixel, electrodes = camera of the brain. (Need a lot of data to find good signal.)

Question1: Are we measuring thoughts or not?

Question2: Would we use BCI for all interaction?

• motionless: nothing wrong with moving
• affordance: gestures are (very) natural
• cannot stop thinking!

1.5 Actuation for sensing the thought

Brain-to-brain stimulation

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS):

• uses magnetic elds to stimulate nerve cells in the brain
• you will feel a knocking, tapping, or tingling sensation on your head

2. Muscle Computer Interfaces

• Functionality: Interfaces that use electrical signals from muscles to control devices.
• Techniques:
  • EMS (Electro Muscle Stimulation): Stimulates muscles via electrical impulses.(muscles can only contraction, like pull not push)
  • MMG (Mechano-Myography): Detects muscle vibrations during contractions.
  • EMG (Electromyography): Measures muscle response to nerve stimulation.
• Applications: Originally used in rehabilitation, now expanded to HCI for creating immersive experiences and providing haptic feedback.

2.5 Actuating Muscles

3. Implanted Interfaces

• Concept: Devices that are surgically embedded to interface directly with bodily functions.
• Examples:
  • Pacemakers: Regulate heartbeats.
  • Drug Delivery Systems: Administer medications at controlled rates.
  • Neural Implants: Like those used in Project Cyborg by Kevin Warwick, interface directly with the nervous system.

Future Directions

• BCI Improvements: Advances in imaging technologies could lead to higher-resolution brain activity monitoring.
• Expansion of Muscle Interfaces: Broader adoption in consumer technology for gesture-based controls.
• Ethical Considerations: As these technologies develop, ethical implications, particularly around implanted interfaces, will need to be carefully considered.

Summary

The integration of computer interfaces with the human body presents groundbreaking opportunities across medical, technological, and ethical domains. As these interfaces evolve, they promise to significantly enhance human-computer interaction by harnessing our biological inputs directly.