Project Description:
The overall goal for this project is to gain a better understanding of how EEG wearable devices are indicative of cognitive load for people with brain-trauma related disabilities. This project will use either an Muse2 (displayed below) or a custom made EEG device to measure and collect EEG data and then use the data to classify a user’s level of cognitive load in real time as they are playing a game that induces stress (Stroop test game).
This project is being pursued to gain a better understanding of the nuances and effects of cognitive load on individuals. Cognitive load plays a large role in the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of patients, so we hope to pursue this research to find an efficient and effective method for health care providers to classify a patient’s level of cognitive load. Future implications include giving users a platform to quantitatively display their efforts during treatment by determining their level of cognitive load.
With a post test survey, users typically estimate and evaluate their own efforts during testing, so this new method of determining effort during treatment has the potential to be more thorough than a post-test survey. In addition, this has the potential to be incorporated into other BTAP projects, such as the AAC project, which has observed that patients express significant stress when they are unable to communicate. With its many different future applications, this project has the potential to aid and improve user to provider communication. The provider-patient interaction is a key cornerstone of quality healthcare.
Current Work:
The software development work on this largely focuses on the development of an Android Application for clinical trials (Stroop test app) and implementation of a machine learning model to classify the EEG data being collected as a mental state.
The clinical team is currently working on collecting EEG data using the Muse2 device, which the software team will analyze in our machine learning model. Participants in data collection participate in a relaxed, neutral, and stressed condition. The stressed condition is created by having participants play the Stroop test cognitive game that the software team developed.
The images below feature of some our team members as they test the Muse2 device on their forehead.
