Article

Eye trackers are widely used among people with amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis, and their benefits to quality of life have been previously shown. On
the contrary, Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are still quite a novel
technology, which also serves as an access technology for people with severe
motor impairment. OBJECTIVE: To compare a visual P300-based BCI and an eye
tracker in terms of information transfer rate (ITR), usability, and cognitive
workload in users with motor impairments. METHODS: Each participant performed 3
spelling tasks, over 4 total sessions, using an Internet browser, which was
controlled by a spelling interface that was suitable for use with either the BCI
or the eye tracker. At the end of each session, participants evaluated usability
and cognitive workload of the system. RESULTS: ITR and System Usability Scale
(SUS) score were higher for the eye tracker (Wilcoxon signed-rank test: ITR T =
9, P = .016; SUS T = 12.50, P = .035). Cognitive workload was higher for the BCI
(T = 4; P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: Although BCIs could be potentially useful for
people with severe physical disabilities, we showed that the usability of BCIs
based on the visual P300 remains inferior to eye tracking. We suggest that future
research on visual BCIs should use eye tracking-based control as a comparison to
evaluate performance or focus on nonvisual paradigms for persons who have lost
gaze control.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2015.

Langue : ANGLAIS