STTR Phase II: High-quality, Quick-apply Electroencephalography (EEG) for Improved Diagnosis of Brain Disorders

该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。这个小型企业技术转移（STTR）二期项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将产生高质量，易于应用的帽，用于通过脑电图（EEG）非侵入性测量来自头皮的大脑信号。这种帽将减少EEG程序的设置时间从30分钟减少到不到5分钟。这种设置时间的减少将加快程序并减少对专门脑电图技术人员的需求。许多地理区域的脑电图预约等待时间为4 - 6周；更快的过程和更高的吞吐量将减轻这种等待。此外，在这个项目中设计的脑电图帽将增加脑电图在农村社区的可及性，这些社区通常无法定期接触到这些技术人员。从经济上讲，执行脑电图的医院和诊所可以通过减少对脑电图室和技术人员时间的需求来降低每次手术的成本。脑电图手术成本的降低是控制和降低整体医疗保健成本的一小步。这个小型企业技术转移（STTR）二期项目正在开发EEG平台，将用于探索新的大脑诊断算法。该项目正在为EEG引入一种新型电极材料，具体来说，是一种柔软的海绵状材料，它比普通的海绵保持水的时间更长，但在干燥时仍能导电。这种脑电图系统还使用微型印刷电路板在每个电极附近固定放大器。这些电路板可以重新配置，去除最近受伤或手术的头皮区域的电极。更重要的是，该项目产生的脑电图帽可以扩大（只需添加更多电极），以探索非常高密度的脑电图和新的算法，以更好地诊断脑损伤和疾病。特别是，这个项目将提供硬件，使新的方法来观察癫痫和创伤性脑损伤。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will produce a high‐quality, easily‐applied cap for non‐invasively measuring brain signals from the scalp by electroencephalography (EEG). This cap will reduce the setup time for an EEG procedure from 30 minutes to less than 5 minutes. This reduction in setup time will speed up procedures and reduce demand on specialized EEG technicians. Many geographic regions have wait times for EEG appointments of 4‐6 weeks; This wait will be alleviated by faster procedures and higher throughput. Additionally, the EEG cap designed in this project will increase accessibility of EEG to rural communities that don’t often have regular access to these technicians. Economically, the hospitals and clinics that perform EEG can reduce cost per procedure by reducing demand for EEG rooms and technician time. This reduction in EEG procedure costs is a small step towards controlling and reducing overall healthcare costs. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project is developing EEG platforms that will be used to explore new brain diagnostic algorithms. The project is introducing a novel electrode material to EEG, specifically, a soft sponge‐like material that holds water for a longer time than typical sponges, yet conducts electricity when dry. This EEG system also uses miniature printed circuit boards to hold amplifiers near each electrode. These circuit boards can be reconfigured, removing electrodes over scalp regions of recent injury or surgery. More importantly, the EEG cap resulting from this project can be scaled up (simply by adding more electrodes) to explore very high‐density EEG and novel algorithms for better diagnosing brain injuries and diseases. In particular, this project will provide hardware that enables new ways of looking at epilepsy and traumatic brain injuries.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.