EEG Based Brain Machine Interface for Rehabilitation: A Guided Tour

Brain machine interfaces provide a digital channel between the brain and the physical world. Electrophysiological signals such as EMG, EEG, and EOG of the brain can provide a non muscular channel to control external devices. In this paper we present a survey on Electroencephalogram [EEG] based brain machine interfaces [BMI] and the feasibility of a brain interface to control wheel chairs. With the advent of noninvasive electrodes, research in EEG has been directed towards development of brain machine interfaces to replace damaged motor nerves. Restoring complex motor functions like reaching and grasping still remains a major challenge. This paper presents a preliminary study on using EEG signals for rehabilitation and the current research on EEG based BMI.