Multiple channel detection of steady-state visual evoked potentials for brain-computer interfaces

In this paper, novel methods for detecting steady-state visual evoked potentials using multiple electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are presented. The methods are tailored for brain-computer interfacing, where fast and accurate detection is of vital importance for achieving high information transfer rates. High detection accuracy using short time segments is obtained by finding combinations of electrode signals that cancel strong interference signals in the EEG data. Data from a test group consisting of 10 subjects are used to evaluate the new methods and to compare them to standard techniques. Using 1-s signal segments, six different visual stimulation frequencies could be discriminated with an average classification accuracy of 84%. An additional advantage of the presented methodology is that it is fully online, i.e., no calibration data for noise estimation, feature extraction, or electrode selection is needed.