Collaborative Proposal: Functional Near Infrared Imaging for Communication and Control

合作提案：用于通信和控制的功能性近红外成像

• 批准号: 0511924
• 负责人: Melody Jackson
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-07-01 至 2007-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0511924&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Proposal; Functional; Near; Infrared

Severe motor disabilities significantly impact the quality of life for millions of people worldwide. The most profound motor disability, so-called locked-in syndrome, describes people who are completely paralyzed and unable to speak - they are intelligent and alert, but unable to communicate even their most basic needs. Several technologies, based on detecting minute electrical changes in brain signals, have been assessed for whether they can provide a channel of communication for people with locked-in syndrome; although the results from these studies are encouraging, the interfaces are slow, highly error prone, and often require weeks or months of training before control is achieved. Functional Near-Infrared (fNIR) imaging is a new and promising brain-imaging technology that measures small changes in blood volume and oxygenation in the brain. The technology has been explored for augmented cognition and for diagnosis, but has not been investigated for its control potential. Initial studies in able-bodied and locked-in subjects suggest that fNIR control is more accurate, easier to activate, and does not require any training. The overall goal of this research is to fully characterize and test fNIR imaging for control application. To this end, the PIs will first conduct a comprehensive study to determine optimal fNIR activation methods (e.g., determination of mental tasks that can be easily performed and that result in detectable brain activations). The product of this study will be a screening protocol that can be used to determine the most controllable brain area and device configuration for an individual user. The PIs will also work to improve fNIR imaging methods, by conducting offline and online studies to determine optimal sensitivity, cortical depth, filters, and signal processing algorithms for fNIR control. The product of this study will be an fNIR imaging device that is as accurate, sensitive, and robust as possible, as well as a set of heuristics for optimally configuring the device for a particular user. Finally, the PIs will demonstrate fNIR control in real-world applications by determining optimal mappings of fNIR signals to traditional assistive technology control interfaces such as scanning or logical interfaces, cursor movement, and direct selection. The results from all of these studies will be validated by combining and incorporating the findings into a comprehensive test of the fNIR system, by implementing a system for in-home use to control devices such as light switches, a television, and an MP3 player, which will be tested with five locked-in subjects.Broader Impacts: For people with severe motor disabilities, the implications of researching and improving access to assistive technologies are profound. This research will make a significant contribution to the area of brain-computer interfaces by introducing a new, unexplored brain imaging method for control. It will also add to the body of knowledge for assistive technology and human-computer interfaces, by establishing protocols and mappings between an fNIR device and control interfaces. There are many people with less profound motor impairments (e.g., palsy), who might also be helped by an fNIR input device. Further research in fNIR control could lead to control of prosthetics that could restore movement in paralyzed limbs. Additionally, interface strategies for low-bandwidth, high error rate contexts may have significant application in other domains such as mobile and wearable computing systems and hands-free device operation.

严重的运动障碍显着影响全球数百万人的生活质量。所谓的锁定综合症最深刻的运动残疾描述了那些完全瘫痪且无法说话的人 - 他们聪明且机敏，但甚至无法传达他们最基本的需求。 已经评估了几种基于检测大脑信号电气变化的技术，已经评估了它们是否可以为锁定综合征的人提供通信渠道。尽管这些研究的结果令人鼓舞，但界面很缓慢，容易发生，并且通常需要进行数周或几个月的训练才能实现控制。 功能性近红外（FNIR）成像是一种新的且有希望的脑成像技术，可测量大脑中血容量和氧合的少量变化。 该技术已被探索以增加认知和诊断，但尚未以其控制潜力进行调查。 对健全和锁定受试者的初步研究表明，FNIR控制更准确，更易于激活，并且不需要任何训练。 这项研究的总体目标是充分表征和测试FNIR成像以进行控制应用。 为此，PIS将首先进行全面的研究，以确定最佳的FNIR激活方法（例如，确定可以轻松执行的心理任务并导致可检测到的大脑激活）。这项研究的产品将是一种筛选协议，可用于确定单个用户最可控的大脑区域和设备配置。 PI还将通过进行离线和在线研究来确定最佳灵敏度，皮质深度，过滤器和信号处理算法，以改善FNIR成像方法。 这项研究的产物将是一种FNIR成像设备，尽可能准确，敏感和健壮，以及一组启发式方法，可最佳地为特定用户配置该设备。 最后，PI将通过确定FNIR信号的最佳映射到传统的辅助技术控制接口（例如扫描或逻辑接口，光标运动和直接选择）来证明现实世界应用中的FNIR控制。 所有这些研究的结果将通过将发现和将发现结合到FNIR系统的全面测试中来验证，通过实施用于控制设备（例如光开关，电视和MP3播放器）的系统的系统，该系统将受到五个锁定主题的测试。 这项研究将通过引入一种新的，未开发的脑成像方法来控制脑机构界面的区域。 它还将通过在FNIR设备和控制接口之间建立协议和映射来增加辅助技术和人类计算机界面的知识体系。 有很多人的运动障碍（例如，麻痹）也可能受到FNIR输入设备的帮助。 对FNIR控制的进一步研究可能会导致控制假肢，从而恢复瘫痪的肢体运动。 此外，低型带宽的接口策略，高错误率上下文可能在其他域中具有重大应用，例如移动和可穿戴计算系统以及免提设备操作。