Visual Fixation Assessment in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness Based on Brain-Computer Interface
Jun Xiao1 • Jiahui Pan1 • Yanbin He2 • Qiuyou Xie2 • Tianyou Yu1 • Haiyun Huang1 • Wei Lv2 • Jiechun Zhang2 • Ronghao Yu2,* • Yuanqing Li1,*
1Center for Brain Computer Interfaces and Brain Information Processing, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
2Coma Research Group, Centre for Hyperbaric Oxygen and Neurorehabilitation, General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Guangzhou 510010, China
Abstract
Visual fixation is an item in the visual function subscale of the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). Sometimes clinicians using the behavioral scales find it difficult to detect because of the motor impairment in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOCs). Brain-computer interface (BCI) can be used to improve clinical assessment because it directly detects the brain response to an external stimulus in the absence of behavioral expression. In this study, we designed a BCI system to assist the visual fixation assessment of DOC patients. The results from 15 patients indicated that three showed visual fixation in both CRS-R and BCI assessments and one did not show such behavior in the CRS-R assessment but achieved significant online accuracy in the BCI assessment. The results revealed that electroencephalography-based BCI can detect the brain response for visual fixation. Therefore, the proposed BCI may provide a promising method for assisting behavioral assessment using the CRS-R.
Keywords
Visual fixation; Brain-computer interface; Disorder of consciousness; Coma recovery scale-revised; Electroencephalography
