This paper explores a methodology used to discriminate the electroencephalograph (EEG) signals of patients with vegetative state (VS) and those with minimally conscious state (MCS). The model was derived from the EEG data of 33 patients in a calling name stimulation paradigm. The preprocessing algorithm was applied to remove the noises in the EEG data. Two types of features including sample entropy and multiscale entropy were chosen. Multiple kernel support vector machine was investigated to perform the training and classification. The experimental results showed that the alpha rhythm features of EEG signals in severe disorders of consciousness were significant. We achieved the average classification accuracy of 88.24%. It was concluded that the proposed method for the EEG signal classification for VS and MCS patients was effective. The approach in this study may eventually lead to a reliable tool for identifying severe disorder states of consciousness quantitatively. It would also provide the auxiliary basis of clinical assessment for the consciousness disorder degree.
