Brain-computer interface using near-infrared spectroscopy for rehabilitation

This study proposes a new method for detecting brain activity level for brain-computer interface (BCI) using a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) which is applicable for rehabilitation. NIRS detects the radiated near-infrared rays, and measures relative variations of oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (deoxy-Hb) based on those absorbencies. The proposed method detects the brain activity level using oxy-Hb and the differential value of oxy-Hb. Results with grasping task show that the proposed method is effective for the detecting of brain activity level.