High performance P300 spellers using GPT2 word prediction with cross-subject training

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) severely impairs patients' ability to communicate, often leading to a decline in their quality of life within a few years of diagnosis. The P300 speller brain-computer interface (BCI) offers an alternative communication method by interpreting a subject's EEG response to flashing characters presented on a grid interface. This paper addresses the common speed limitations encountered in training efficient P300-based multi-subject classifiers by introducing innovative 'across-subject' classifiers. We leverage a combination of the second-generation Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (GPT2) and Dijkstra's algorithm to optimize stimuli and suggest word completion choices based on subjects' typing history. Additionally, we employ a multi-layered smoothing technique to accommodate out-of-vocabulary (OOV) words. Through extensive simulations employing random sampling of EEG data from multiple subjects, we demonstrate significant speed enhancements in typing passages containing rare and OOV words. These optimizations result in approximately $10\% $10% improvement in character-level typing speed and up to $40\% $40% improvement in multi-word prediction. We demonstrate that augmenting standard row/column highlighting techniques with layered word prediction yields close-to-optimal performance. Furthermore, we explore both 'within-subject' and 'across-subject' training techniques, showing that speed improvements are consistent across both approaches.