EEG-BCI Features Discrimination between Executed and Imagined Movements Based on FastICA, Hjorth Parameters, and SVM

Abstract

Brain–Computer Interfaces (BCIs) communicate between a given user and their nearest environment through brain signals. In the case of device handling, an accurate control-based BCI depends essentially on how the user performs corresponding mental tasks. In the BCI illiteracy-related literature, one subject could perform a defined paradigm better than another. Therefore, this work aims to identify recorded Electroencephalogram (EEG) signal segments related to the executed and imagined motor tasks for BCI system applications. The proposed approach implements pass-band filters and the Fast Independent Component Analysis (FastICA) algorithm to separate independent sources from raw EEG signals. Next, EEG features of selected channels are extracted using Hjorth parameters. Finally, a Support Vector Machines (SVMs)-based classifier identifies executed and imagined motor features. Concretely, the Physionet dataset, related to executed and imagined motor EEG signals, provided training, testing, and validating data. The numerical results let us discriminate between executed and imagined motor tasks accurately. Therefore, the proposed method offers a reliable alternative to extract EEG features for BCI based on executed and imagined movements.

Keywords

• electroencephalogram (EEG)
• fast independent component analysis (FastICA)
• motor execution (ME)
• motor imagery (MI)
• brain–computer interfaces (BCIs)
• support vector machines (SVMs)