Development and Validation of a BCI-Enabled Boccia Ramp for Sport Participation

We present a brain-computer interface (BCI) system designed to enable individuals with severe motor disabilities to play Boccia, a Paralympic sport. Boccia is a precision sport in which the objective is to get a ball as close as possible to a target. In its most adapted form, Boccia allows for the use of a ramp to assist the user. The proposed system consists of a BCI-enabled ramp that can be controlled by the user's brain signals using a visual control paradigm (i.e., P300, or SSVEP). We developed a software interface using custom tools in Unity and Python for the front-end and back-end, respectively. To validate the software, we tested the system with five subjects who performed six pipelines (three with P300 and three with SSVEP) to simulate real-world use. Each pipeline consisted of 10 guided selections in the software. The classifiers used Riemannian geometry and shrinkage linear discriminant analysis (sLDA) for P300 and canonical correlation analysis (CCA) for SSVEP. The results showed that the P300
$(93\pm 3\ \%,\ \text{mean} \pm \text{SEM})$
paradigm had higher classification accuracy than the SSVEP
$(27\pm 0.02\%, \text{mean} \pm \text{SEM})$
paradigm. Additionally, we designed and built a 3D CAD model and a hardware prototype of the ramp. The hardware prototype uses linear actuators to change the incline of the ramp and the height of the ball. Stepper motors allow for the rotation of the ramp and the release mechanism of the ball. Recommendations on improvements to the hardware and software components are made for future prototypes. The presented system opens new possibilities for sports applications that can improve the quality of life of people with severe motor disabilities.