Sleep disconnect safety override for direct human-computer neural interfaces for the control of computer controlled functions

摘要

When a neural human-computer interface is used to control mechanical and electrical functions, the act of falling asleep by the user during neural control operations can produce undesirable and even disastrous results since neural activity would still be monitored and could produce involuntary signals leading to unintended results. In systems that track a user's neural activity and which use an electrical signal based upon this activity for controlling computer controlled functions, the problems associated with falling asleep may be circumvented by using an implementation which inhibits neural control when a patient's sleep state is detected. To accomplish this, an electroencephalography monitor (EEG) may be used to detect and predetermine the user's neural activity pattern during the transition from awake to sleep states. This pattern is compared against current neural activity. If matched, the neurally generated electrical signal is terminated.