High Resolution EEG/Evoked Potential System

描述（由申请人提供）：为了实现人类EEG和诱发电位的电源的精确定位，必须以比标准“10- 20”位置定义的19个位置高得多的空间频率对头皮上的场进行采样。“高分辨率”（64-256通道）EEG（hrEEG）不仅为实验目的提供了源发生器的更大定位，而且可以大大提高癫痫和中风等疾病的诊断和监测能力。尽管具有大量通道的生物电势放大器系统是可用的，但是在头皮表面处转换微伏级脑电信号的过程仍然是困难的，需要低且平衡的接触阻抗来实现可接受的线路频率（60 Hz）噪声水平。使用溶剂、研磨剂或注射器针头手动准备头皮部位以匹配放大器系统输入要求是非常耗时的，并且由于所涉及的通道数量而成为hrEEG应用的主要障碍。高系统购置成本也大大抑制了hrEEG的开发和利用。将开发一种低成本、无干扰、高分辨率EEG系统，该系统将完全消除头皮部位准备，而不使用昂贵的头上电子设备、屏蔽记录环境或可能损害信号完整性的过度滤波。临床和实验方案的设置时间将减少到电极物理应用所需的时间，并且患者刺激和磨损期间头皮穿刺感染的风险都将消除。新的hrEEG系统将通过一种新型的模块化硬件架构实现高度紧凑的外形，从而大幅降低系统成本。一个开放源码软件包将具有面向对象的可编程性，赋予前所未有的用户控制和灵活性。先进的电极帽系统将具有一次性/可重复使用的电极、用户可维护性和相关的超声波清洁系统，这将降低运营成本。所提出的新系统将导致hrEEG的实验和临床应用的利用率增加。在第一年的开发之后，hrEEG系统将在一个独立的大学EEG实验室中对人类受试者进行评估。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): To achieve accurate localization of electrical sources of the human EEG and evoked potentials, the field on the scalp must be sampled at much higher spatial frequency than the 19 positions defined by the standard "10- 20" locations. "High resolution" (64-256 channel) EEG (hrEEG) not only provides greater localization of source generators for experimental purposes but can substantially improve diagnostic and monitoring capability for diseases such as epilepsy and stroke. Despite the availability of biopotential amplifier systems with large numbers of channels, the process of transducing the microvolt level cerebral electrical signals at the scalp surface remains difficult, requiring low and balanced contact impedances to achieve acceptable levels of line frequency (60 Hz) noise. Manual preparation of scalp sites using solvents, abrasives or syringe needles to match amplifier system input requirements is very time consuming and a major impediment to hrEEG application due to the number of channels involved. High system acquisition cost has also substantially inhibited the development and utilization of hrEEG. A low cost, preparation-free, high resolution EEG system will be developed that will entirely eliminate scalp site preparation without the use of costly on-head electronics, shielded recording environment or excessive filtering that can compromise signal integrity. Setup time for clinical and experimental protocols will be reduced to the time required for physical application of electrodes and patient irritation and risk of infection from scalp puncture during abrasion will both be eliminated. The new hrEEG system will be designed to substantially lower system cost by a new type of modular hardware architecture that achieves a highly compact form factor. An open-source software package will feature object-oriented programmability, conferring unprecedented user control and flexibility. An advanced electrode cap system will feature disposable/reusable electrodes, user-serviceability and an associated ultrasonic cleaning system that will reduce operational costs. The proposed new system will lead to increased utilization of hrEEG for experimental and clinical applications. Following first year development, the hrEEG system will be evaluated in human subjects at an independent, university-based EEG laboratory.