MINDBEAGLE

mindBEAGLE PRO is an EEG-based BCI system designed to support research into brain responsiveness, command following, and communication potential in patients with disorders of consciousness and severe motor impairments. Its findings can provide additional neurophysiological information alongside established neurological assessments.

mindBEAGLE results should not be used as the sole basis for diagnosing consciousness disorders, predicting individual recovery outcomes, or making treatment decisions. The permitted clinical applications depend on the regulatory status and intended use of the specific system configuration.

mindBEAGLE PRO supports multiple EEG-based paradigms to investigate different aspects of brain function:

• Auditory Evoked Potentials (AEP): Assess responses to auditory stimulation.
• Vibrotactile Paradigms (VT2, VT3, VT7): Investigate tactile processing and task-related brain responses using different stimulation configurations.
• Motor Imagery (MI): Investigate voluntary modulation of sensorimotor brain activity through imagined movements.
• Resting-State EEG: Record spontaneous brain activity without requiring active patient participation.

These complementary approaches allow researchers to investigate responsiveness through different sensory and cognitive tasks.

Yes. mindBEAGLE PRO combines wireless EEG recording, portable stimulation hardware, and dedicated assessment software in a compact system suitable for bedside research assessments. Patients can be evaluated without requiring voluntary movement or speech, making the system particularly relevant for investigations involving severe motor impairments and disorders of consciousness.

Individual mindBEAGLE PRO assessment paradigms typically take approximately 2–4 minutes, depending on the selected protocol. Auditory assessments take around 4 minutes, while vibrotactile assessments generally require approximately 2.5–3.5 minutes. Additional time is needed for EEG preparation, electrode placement, signal quality checks, and repeated testing.

No. A negative mindBEAGLE assessment does not prove that a patient lacks consciousness or cognitive abilities. Brain responses can fluctuate due to fatigue, attention, arousal, and other factors. Repeated assessments using different EEG paradigms are recommended to investigate potential responsiveness. Results should always be interpreted alongside established clinical assessments, such as the Coma Recovery Scale–Revised (CRS-R).

Yes. In selected patients who demonstrate sufficiently reliable task-related brain responses, mindBEAGLE PRO enables basic YES/NO communication using vibrotactile stimulation or motor imagery. Machine learning algorithms classify EEG activity into potential answers without requiring speech or voluntary movement. Communication success depends on individual patient responsiveness and should be verified through repeated testing.

mindBEAGLE PRO uses EEG-based brain-computer interface (BCI) technology to investigate whether patients can follow instructions despite showing no reliable behavioral response. By analyzing brain activity during auditory, vibrotactile, and motor imagery tasks, the system can identify potential evidence of covert command following in selected patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC). These findings complement established neurological assessments and require careful interpretation.

Murovec, N., Heilinger, A., Xu, R., Ortner, R., Spataro, R., La Bella, V., Miao, Y., Jin, J., Chatelle, C., Laureys, S. and Allison, B.Z., 2020. Effects of a Vibro-Tactile P300 based Brain-Computer Interface on the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14, p.294.

Annen, Jitka, Séverine Blandiaux, Nicolas Lejeune, Mohamed Ali Bahri, Aurore Thibaut, Woosang Cho, Christoph Guger, Camille Chatelle, and Steven Laureys. “BCI performance and brain metabolism profile in severely brain-injured patients without response to command at bedside.” Frontiers in Neuroscience 12 (2018): 370.

Spataro, R., Heilinger, A., Allison, B., De Cicco, D., Marchese, S., Gregoretti, C., La Bella, V. and Guger, C., 2018. Preserved somatosensory discrimination predicts consciousness recovery in unresponsive wakefulness syndrome. Clinical Neurophysiology.

Ortner, R., Allison, B.Z., Pichler, G., Heilinger, A., Sabathiel, N. and Guger, C., 2017. Assessment and Communication for People with Disorders of Consciousness. Journal of visualized experiments: JoVE, (126).

Guger, C., Allison, B., Kammerhofer, A., Guttmann, F., Tim, J.V., Spataro, R., La Bella, V., Annen, J., Laureys, S., Heilinger, A. and Ortner, R., mindBEAGLE – a new system for the assessment and communication with patients with disorders of consciousness and complete locked-in syndrom. 2017 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (SMC), 3008-3013.

Ortner R., Spataro R., Scharinger J., Allison B.Z., Guger C. (2017). Vibro-Tactile Evoked Potentials for BCI Communication of People with Disorders of Consciousness and Locked-in Syndrome. Proceedings of the 7th Graz Brain-Computer Interface Conference 2017, 379-382.

Huggins, J. E., Guger, C., Ziat, M., Zander, T. O., Taylor, D., Tangermann, M., … & Ruffini, G. (2017). Workshops of the Sixth International Brain–Computer Interface Meeting: brain–computer interfaces past, present, and future. Brain-Computer Interfaces, 1-34.

Guger, C., Spataro, R., Allison, B. Z., Heilinger, A., Ortner, R., Cho, W., & La Bella, V. (2017). Complete Locked-in and Locked-in patients: Command following assessment and communication with vibro-tactile P300 and motor imagery brain-computer interface tools. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 11, 251.

Ortner, R., Annen, J., von Oertzen, T., Espinosa, A., Rodriguez, J., Allison, B. Z., Edlinger, G., Laureys, S., Hamberger, M., Kammerhofer, A., Guttmann, F., Guger, C. (2016) BCIs for DOC Patients: Assessment, Communication, and New Directions. In International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 62-71). Springer International Publishing.

Annen, J., Ortner, R., Wannez, S., Piarulli, A., Allison, B. Z., Guger, C., & Laureys, S.: mindBEAGLE: An EEG-based BCI developed for patients with disorders of consciousness. Conference Paper: International Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Meeting 2016

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This could occur for different reasons:

• The patient is asleep or drowsy.
• The patient does not understand the instructions.
• The patient does not want to participate.
• The patient does exhibit conscious awareness, but mindBEAGLE is unable to detect it because the measured brainwaves are too weak or too noisy.
• The patient does not have conscious awareness.

Important: If mindBEAGLE never indicates conscious awareness, this does not mean that the patient is unconscious. It could mean that the system cannot detect the expected brain activity due to one or more of the preceding reasons.

mindBEAGLE could be useful for any patient with DOC (disorders of consciousness). In fact, mindBEAGLE is a tool to help experts assess the level of awareness and consciousness, which can lead experts to revise their diagnoses or gain additional insight. People with Locked-In Syndrome can use mindBEAGLE for communication. We are exploring other groups that might benefit from mindBEAGLE.

Since setting up mindBEAGLE is very fast and easy, it could be used every day. Patients with DOC could have windows of consciousness. Therefore, it is important to repeat tests several times, if possible at different times of the day. The four methods could work differently on patients. During initial evaluation, each method should be explored several times. Based on the resulting accuracy, the system operator could decide to focus on the method that works best. Furthermore, the patients’ accuracy can improve with training. It is recommended to have at least five sessions with each method during this training phase.

These types of patients often transition from a coma to a less severe state, such as a minimally conscious state, and may emerge from this state on their own. Patients who “wake up” from a coma do so primarily because of their own healing. That is, people don’t “wake up” just because they used mindBEAGLE. However, mindBEAGLE can help identify whether a patient is able to understand instructions, and could lead to rehabilitation that could help them regain conscious awareness.

No. mindBEAGLE is designed to help assess the level of awareness and consciousness. A medical professional could use mindBEAGLE to test and analyze the brain’s responses to certain kinds of stimuli. This analysis will be one component of a precise diagnosis.