Optimization of Visual Stimulus Sequence in a Brain-Computer Interface Based on Code Modulated Visual Evoked Potentials

Brain-computer interfaces based on code-modulated visual evoked potentials provide high information transfer rates, which make them promising alternative communication tools. Circular shifts of a binary sequence are used as the flickering pattern of several visual stimuli, where the minimum correlation between them is critical for recognizing the target by analyzing the EEG signal. Implemented sequences have been borrowed from communication theory without considering visual system physiology and related ergonomics. Here, an approach is proposed to design optimum stimulus sequences considering physiological factors, and their superior performance was demonstrated for a 6-target c-VEP BCI system. This was achieved by defining a time-factor index on the frequency response of the sequence, while the autocorrelation index ensured a low correlation between circular shifts. A modified version of the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGAII) multi-objective optimization technique was implemented to find, for the first time, 63-bit sequences with simultaneously optimized autocorrelation and time-factor indexes. The selected optimum sequences for general (TFO) and 6-target (6TO) BCI systems, were then compared with m-sequence by conducting experiments on 16 participants. Friedman tests showed a significant difference in perceived eye irritation between TFO and m-sequence (p = 0.024). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) statistical test showed significantly higher accuracy for 6TO compared to m-sequence (p = 0.006). Evaluation of EEG responses showed enhanced SNR for the new sequences compared to m-sequence, confirming the proposed approach for optimizing the stimulus sequence. Incorporating physiological factors to select sequence(s) used for c-VEP BCI systems improves their performance and applicability.