A speedy hybrid BCI spelling approach combining P300 and SSVEP.

Abstract

This study proposes a novel hybrid brain-computer interface (BCI) approach for increasing the spelling speed. In this approach, the P300 and steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) detection mechanisms are devised and integrated so that the two brain signals can be used for spelling simultaneously. Specifically, the target item is identified by 2-D coordinates that are realized by the two brain patterns. The subarea/location and row/column speedy spelling paradigms were designed based on this approach. The results obtained for 14 healthy subjects demonstrate that the average online practical information transfer rate, including the time of break between selections and error correcting, achieved using our approach was 53.06 bits/min. The pilot studies suggest that our BCI approach could achieve higher spelling speed compared with the conventional P300 and SSVEP spellers.