Real time EEG-based pain control system

Abstract

Pain is a human phenomenon when sensory receptors are stimulated by the injury, i.e. the electrical signal from the site of stimulus transmits to the brain. Most patients have suffered from those pains. Even though there are some medicine to reduce the pain, but there are some side effects. This study proposes the use of an electroencephalogram (EEG) as an index for self-controlling of the acute pain. The real-time EEG based pain control system is a biofeedback device that designs for users to control a virtual reality game to distract the pain. The experiment obtained an index of a pain state for the system which evaluated by the questionnaire and Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SEP). The results can be illustrated the pain state that the frequencies of alpha band (8-13 Hz) decrease while the frequencies of beta band (20-25 Hz) increase in the posterior area. This index used the real-time pain control system to indicate the state of the pain. The system interfaces with the virtual reality game. The success of this study leads to the system that can reduce the pain in real-time performance. It can help people to tolerate the pain which is an alternative method for recovery besides using drugs.