Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are technologies for assisting individuals with motor impairments.Activity from the brain is recorded and then processed by a computer to control assistive devices.The prominent method for recording neural activity uses microelectrodes that penetrate the cortex to record from localized populations of neurons.This causes a severe inflammatory response, making this method unsuitable after approximately 1-2 years.Electrocorticography (ECoG), a method of recording potentials from the cortical surface, is a prudent alternative that shows promise as the basis of a clinically viable BCI.This thesis investigates aspects of ECoG relevant to the translation of BCI devices: signal longevity, motor information encoding, and decoding intended movement.Data was assessed from a first-in-human ECoG device trial to quantify changes in ECoG over multiple years.The mean power, calculated daily, was steady for all patients.It was demonstrated that the device could consistently record ECoG signal statistically distinct from noise up to approximately 100 Hz for the duration of the study.Therefore, long-term implanted ECoG can be expected to record movement-related high-gamma signals from humans for many years without deterioration of signal.This thesis is fewer than the maximum word limit of 100,000 words exclusive of tables, figures, bibliographies and appendices.
Author: Ewan S. Nurse
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2883798649