Secure EEG Signal Transmission for Remote Health Monitoring Using Optical Chaos

For the very first time, we present the use of optical chaos for the secure transmission of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals through optical fiber medium in remote health monitoring systems. In our proposed scheme, a semiconductor laser source is used to generate optical chaos, which hides EEG signal before its transmission over the optical fiber medium. The EEG signals are acquired by using a 14-channel Emotiv headset device, which are then processed and rescaled to be compatible with the experimental environment (Optisystem). The mixing of EEG signals and chaos is performed using additive chaos masking scheme, which exhibits certain useful properties such as simplicity and easy recovery of the message. Chaotic data (a combination of EEG signals and chaos) is sent over the optical fiber medium to investigate propagation issues associated with secure EEG signal transmission. The scheme is implemented for long haul communication in which the linear impairments of optical fiber are controlled for successful transmission of the secure signal. The parameters at transmitting and receiving sides are selected to achieve synchronization, such that the transmitted signal could be subtracted from identical chaos to restore the original EEG signal at the receiving side. The scheme is tested for different lengths of the optical fiber cable in which the quality of the received signal is determined by obtaining Q-factors. This scheme could also be used with medical signals such as electrocardiography and electromyography.