title: rtMEG: a real-time software interface for magnetoencephalography.
abstract: To date, the majority of studies using magnetoencephalography (MEG) rely on off-line analysis of the spatiotemporal properties of brain activity. Real-time MEG feedback could potentially benefit multiple areas of basic and clinical research: brain-machine interfaces, neurofeedback rehabilitation of stroke and spinal cord injury, and new adaptive paradigm designs, among others. We have developed a software interface to stream MEG signals in real time from the 306-channel Elekta Neuromag MEG system to an external workstation. The signals can be accessed with a minimal delay (≤45 ms) when data are sampled at 1000 Hz, which is sufficient for most real-time studies. We also show here that real-time source imaging is possible by demonstrating real-time monitoring and feedback of alpha-band power fluctuations over parieto-occipital and frontal areas. The interface is made available to the academic community as an open-source resource.
authors.affiliation: Program in Neural Computation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sudre
authors.forename: Lauri
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Parkkonen
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bock
authors.forename: Sylvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baillet
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Douglas J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Weber
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D058256:Brain Waves / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D058765:Neurofeedback; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D012984:Software; D013997:Time Factors; D014584:User-Computer Interface