Decoding motor imagery tasks using ESI and hybrid feature CNN

Objective. Brain-computer interface (BCI) based on motor imaging electroencephalogram (MI-EEG) can be useful in a natural interaction system. In this paper, a new framework is proposed to solve the MI-EEG binary classification problem. Approach. Electrophysiological source imaging (ESI) technology is used to solve the influence of volume conduction effect and improve spatial resolution. Continuous wavelet transform and best time of interest (TOI) are combined to extract the optimal discriminant spatial-frequency features. Finally, a convolutional neural network with seven convolution layers is used to classify the features. In addition, we also validated several new data augment methods to solve the problem of small data sets and reduce network over-fitting. Main results. The model achieved an average classification accuracy of 93.2% and 95.4% on the BCI Competition III IVa and high-gamma data sets, which is better than most of the published advanced algorithms. By selecting the best TOI for each subject, the classification accuracy rate increased by about 2%. The effects of four data augment methods on the classification results were also verified. Among them, the noise addition and overlap methods are better than the other two, and the classification accuracy is improved by at least 4%. On the contrary, the rotation and flip data augment methods reduced the classification accuracy. Significance. Decoding MI tasks can benefit from combing the ESI technology and the data augment technology, which is used to solve the problem of low spatial resolution and small samples of EEG signals, respectively. Based on the results, the model proposed has higher accuracy and application potential in the task of MI-EEG binary classification.