Appeal No. 96-2635
Application 07/993,050
DECISION ON APPEAL
This is a decision on appeal from the examiner's final
rejection of claims 1 through 5, 7 through 17, 21 and 22, which
are all of the claims remaining in this application. Claims 6
and 18 through 20 have been canceled.
Appellants' invention relates to a method of producing
a communication or control signal using the mu wave from the
brain of a person. As noted on page 5 of the specification,
[t]he invention detects brain waves, i.e.
electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, to deter-
mine whether a person is a) moving or
thinking about moving, or b) not moving and
not thinking about moving. A pair of
electrodes are placed over the motor cortex
on the central region of the scalp on
opposite sides of the head. The EEG machine
records the potential difference between
these two electrodes. When a person is
resting, i.e., not moving and not thinking
about moving, there is a large wave, known as
the mu wave, present typically in the 8-13 Hz
region. When the person moves, or thinks
about moving, a suitable body part[,] the
wave substantially decreases. Thus the
system operates on the basis of mu wave
attenuation caused by actual movement or
movement rehearsal (thinking of moving).
Digital signal processing of the EEG wave is
used to produce a control signal, which can
be used to communicate or actuate various
machines.
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