THE P300 AS A TYPING TOOL: TESTS OF BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE WITH AN ALS PATIENT

•Even in a severely paralyzed ALS patient it is possible to record P300 in response to odd ball stimuli. •The data from ALS patients in early stages of the disease are similar to the data obtained from able bodied subjects.•The environment of a paralyzed ALS patients presents challenges to the recording due to the presence of a respirator and other electrical devices. These technical challenges can be overcome.•It may be necessary to shift from a 6 by 6 matrix to a 2 by 2 matrix with a fully paralyzed subject due to difficulties in maintaining focus of attention on the characters.•In general, the system appears to have a potential for serving the needs of the locked in patient. •We are beginning to examine in detail the effectiveness of different detection algorithms in providing increased communication speed.