A new algorithm for blink correction adaptive to inter- and intra-subject variability

Comput Biol Med. 2019 Nov:114:103442. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2019.103442. Epub 2019 Sep 10.

Abstract

Electroencephalographic (EEG) signals are constantly superimposed with biological artifacts. In particular, spontaneous blinks represent a recurrent event that cannot be easily avoided. The main goal of this paper is to present a new algorithm for blink correction (ABC) that is adaptive to inter- and intra-subject variability. The whole process of designing a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)-based EEG experiment is highlighted. From sample size determination to classification, a mixture of the standardized low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) for source localization and time restriction, followed by Riemannian geometry classifiers is featured. Comparison between ABC and the commonly-used Independent Component Analysis (ICA) for blinks removal shows a net amelioration with ABC. With the same pipeline using uncorrected data as a reference, ABC improves classification by 5.38% in average, whereas ICA deteriorates by -2.67%. Furthermore, while ABC accurately reconstructs blink-free data from simulated data, ICA yields a potential difference up to 200% from the original blink-free signal and an increased variance of 30.42%. Finally, ABC's major advantages are ease of visualization and understanding, low computation load favoring simple real-time implementation, and lack of spatial filtering, which allows for more flexibility during the classification step.

Keywords: Artifact removal; BCI; Brain computer interface; EEG; Electroencephalography; ICA; Independent component analysis; Riemannian geometry; Sample size calculation; Spontaneous blinking; Standardized low-resolution electromagnetic tomography; sLORETA.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Algorithms*
  • Artifacts
  • Blinking / physiology*
  • Brain / physiology
  • Brain-Computer Interfaces
  • Electroencephalography / methods*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted*
  • Young Adult