The mental prosthesis: assessing the speed of a P300-based brain-computer interface

TLDR

The study evaluates a P300‑based brain‑computer interface originally described by Farwell and Donchin in 1988. The system uses an oddball paradigm with a 6×6 letter matrix, flashing rows and columns so that the rare events eliciting a P300 signal identify the user‑selected character, and its real‑time performance was evaluated. Offline bootstrapping shows the system can achieve 7.8 characters per minute with 80% accuracy, and real‑time tests confirm that a P300‑based BCI is feasible and practical, though the results are limited to healthy participants.

Abstract

Describes a study designed to assess a brain-computer interface (BCI), originally described by Farwell and Donchin in 1988. The system utilizes the fact that the rare events in the oddball paradigm elicit the P300 component of the event-related potential (ERP). The BCI presents the user with a matrix of 6 by 6 cells, each containing one letter of the alphabet. The user focuses attention on the cell containing the letter to be communicated while the rows and the columns of the matrix are intensified. Each intensification is an event in the oddball sequence, the row and the column containing the attended cell are "rare" items and, therefore, only these events elicit a P300. The computer thus detects the transmitted character by determining which row and which column elicited the P300. The authors report an assessment, using a bootstrapping approach, which indicates that an off line version of the system can communicate at the rate of 7.8 characters a minute and achieve 80% accuracy. The system's performance in real time was also assessed. The authors' data indicate that a P300-based BCI is feasible and practical. However, these conclusions are based on tests using healthy individuals.