Limited but real potential for self-assistance in chronic tetraplegics by EEG-BCI-actuated mechatronic devices was found, which was mainly related to spectral density in the beta range positively (increasing therewith) and to AIS sensory score negatively.
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The ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a systemic, multi-factorial, chronic rheumatic disease. Patients are highly susceptible to vertebral fractures with or without spinal cord injury (AS-SCI), even after a minor trauma. The study is a retrospective descriptive survey of post-acute, traumatic AS-SCI patients, transferred from the neurosurgical department and admitted in a Romanian Neurorehabilitation Clinic, during 2010-2014. There were 11 males associating AS-SCI (0.90% of all consecutive SCI admitted cases), with an average age of 54.6 years (median 56, limits 42-73 years). The average duration between the medically diagnosed AS and the actual associated spinal fracture(-s) moment was 21.4 years (median 23; limits 10-34 years). Low-energy trauma was incriminated in 54.5% cases. The spinal level of fracture was: cervical (four cases), thoracic (three), lumbar (four), assessed at admission as: American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS) A (four subjects), C (five) and D (two). By the time of discharge, neither patient has neurologically deteriorated; five patients (45.5%) improved of at least grade 1 (AIS). The overall complications were mainly infections: symptomatic urinary tract infections (seven patients; 63.6%), pulmonary (three subjects; 27.3%) and spondylodiscitis (one case; 9%). The average follow-up period was 15.3 months (median 12; limits 1-48 months) after discharge; three subjects gained functional improvement to AIS-E. The clinical profile (different risk factors, mechanisms, types and levels of spinal fractures, additional encephalic and/or cord lesions, co-morbidities), different post-surgical and/or general complications acquired during admission in our rehabilitation ward, served us for future prevention strategies and a better therapeutic management.
Follow-up -including questionnaire on patients' perception upon their EEG-BCI control capacity -continued up to 14 months after the experiments.Results: EEG-BCI performance/ calibration-phase classification accuracy averaged 80.99 %; feedback training sessions averaged 70.51% accuracy, for 8 subjects who completed at least one feedback training session; 7 (77.7%) of the 9 subjects reported having had the feeling to control the cursor; 3 (33.3%) subjects felt they were also controlling the robot through their movement imagination.
Study Design: Clinical survey and interviews/ correspondence within long term posttrial follow-up, on 9 chronic, post spinal cord injury tetraplegics.Objective: To assess efficiency of the use of an Electroencephalography-based Brain Computer Interface (EEG-BCI) for reaching/ grasping assistance in tetraplegics, through a robotic arm. Methods: The enrolled patients underwent EEG-BCI training sessions. Statistics entailed multiple linear regressions and cluster analysis. Follow-up -including questionnaire on patients' perception upon their EEG-BCI control capacity -continued up to 14 months after the experiments.Results: EEG-BCI performance/ calibration-phase classification accuracy averaged 80.99 %; feedback training sessions averaged 70.51% accuracy, for 8 subjects who completed at least one feedback training session; 7 (77.7%) of the 9 subjects reported having had the feeling to control the cursor; 3 (33.3%) subjects felt they were also controlling the robot through their movement imagination.BCI performance was positively correlated with beta (13-30 Hz) spectral power density (coefficient 0.432, standardized coefficient 0.745, p-value=0.025); with possible influence was also the sensory AIS score (range: 0 min to 224 max, coefficient -0.177, std. coefficient -0.512, p=0.089).Conclusion: Potential self-assistance for chronic tetraplegics by EEG-BCI actuated mechatronic devices we herein observed, was mainly related to density of EEG in the beta range, positively (increasing therewith) and to AIS sensory score (negatively).Keywords: spinal cord injury, brain computer/machine interface, electroencephalogram, mechatronic/robotic arm device, quality of life.
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