Sam Technology, Inc.

Other

Eeg Systems Laboratory

Alan S Gevins

Jian Le

Nelson H Morgan

Michael E Smith

Donald Durousseau

Harrison Leong

Douglas S Greer

Joel Libove

Robert Andrew Howard

Art Sandoval

David Blau

Weixiu Du

Isabel Sam-Vargas

An improved electrode headset is provided for the acquisition of electroencephalographic (EEG) brain signals detected at the scalp of a human subject. The headset includes an elastic fabric cap having a chinstrap, which cap is fitted closely to the scalp. The cap has openings at those selected locations on the scalp to which removable and disposable electrodes are to be removably connected to the scalp. A positioning unit, of a generally flat and flexible plastic material, is attachable to the cap by corresponding hook-and-loop fasteners on the outer surface of the cap and the inner surface of the positioning unit. The positioning unit has a base portion and two opposite leg portions, each with slits. Flat beams are adjustably connected through the slits to the leg portions and base portion. Each beam carries a screw member which adjustably applies pressure to electrode holders and a flexible electrode extractor strap to which the electrode holder is attached. Each electrode holder is snap fastened to an electrode positioned within a cap opening.

EEG electrode headset

An efficient, objective testing method and system for evaluating changes in mental function is described. The method and system are based on measuring an individual's behavioral responses and brain function during a brief cognitive test battery and passive control conditions. The method and system is designed to assess an individual's fundamental cognitive functions, and whether those functions have been significantly affected by a variety of factors such as progressive disease processes, medication, stress, fatigue, training, or the passage of time. The method and system can be used to determine whether drugs being evaluated to treat diseases or conditions affecting cognitive brain function have a significant positive effect on delaying or improving the symptoms of such a disease or condition, especially during clinical trials for drug approval and subsequent marketing. The method and system may also be employed as part of the successful diagnosis or ongoing treatment of neurological diseases or conditions that directly or indirectly affect human neurocognitive performance. The method and system may also be used to determine transitory changes in overall cognitive function due to emotional stress or fatigue, and more long lasting changes in overall cognitive function following training and educational programs.

Neurocognitive function EEG measurement method and system

A dry electrode, which is a single-plate capacitor, is particularly adapted to be placed on a patient's scalp to detect brain waves in an EEG system. The electrode comprises a metal disk sandwiched between very thin and relatively thicker layers of ceramic. The metal disk is attached to a small disk printed circuit board that carries an amplifier to amplify the brain waves detected by the electrode. The quality of contact of the electrode with the patient is measured by applying a pulse or voltage step through the ground electrode.

Ceramic single-plate capacitor EEG electrode

An efficient, objective testing method and system for evaluating mental acuity and changes in mental acuity is described. The method and system are based on measuring an individual's behavioral responses and brain function during a brief test of working memory and passive control condition. The method and system is designed to assess an individual's overall cognitive ability (&ldquo;general intelligence&rdquo;), and whether that overall cognitive ability has been significantly affected by a variety of factors such as progressive disease processes, medication, stress, fatigue or training. The method and system can be used to determine whether drugs being evaluated to treat diseases or conditions affecting higher cognitive brain function have a significant positive effect on delaying or improving the symptoms of such a disease or condition, especially during clinical trials for drug approval and subsequent marketing. The method and system may also be employed as part of the successful diagnosis or ongoing treatment of neurological diseases or conditions that directly or indirectly affect human neurocognitive performance. The method and system may also be used to determine transitory changes in overall cognitive ability due to emotional stress or fatigue, and more long lasting changes in overall cognitive ability following training and educational programs.

Neurocognitive ability EEG measurement method and system

A method which is accurate and yet relatively simple, rapid and inexpensive for estimating 3-D coordinates of EEG (electroencephalograph) electrode positions on the head. The electrode positions of any number of scalp electrodes placed according to the standard 10/10 electrode position system are computed by a computer system based on 14 manually measured inter-electrode distances and 9 electrode-to-skull landmark straight-line distances. The measurements are made manually using digital calipers.

Spatial measurement of EEG electrodes

A computer-aided training system uses electroencephalograms (EEGs) recorded from the trainee's scalp to alter the training protocol being presented by the computer, for example to present a new task to the trainee when he or she has mastered and automatized the current task. The index of the trainee's skill mastery and automatization is determined by analysis of the EEG using mathematical classification functions which distinguish different levels of skill acquisition. The functions are computed by computer neural networks and consist of a combination of EEG and other physiological variables which specifically characterize a trainee's level of focused attention and neurocognitive workload and his or her neurocognitive strategy. The functions are derived either for a group of trainees, or each trainee individually, performing a battery of one or more standard training tasks while wearing an EEG hat.

Neurocognitive adaptive computer-aided training method and system

The spatial resolution of electroencephalograph (EEG) medical images is improved using 'Deblurring' based on a digital computer based analysis using volumetric finite elements and a biophysical model of the passive electrical conductivity of a subject's head.

EEG deblurring method and system for improved spatial detail

In an EEG (electroencephalogram) system to detect brain waves from a subject, the adverse effect on the EEG recording of artifact due to head, body and eye movements is reduced. A head and body movement reference signal can be provided by an accelerometer, motion detector or, alternatively, spatial average of EEG channels. Eye motion sensors are used as a reference for eye movement artifacts. A composite reference signal consists of the head, body and eye movement reference signals. The contaminated EEG is the primary input to the adaptive movement and eye artifact canceler, in which an adaptive filter estimates the contaminants in the measured EEG data, and then subtracts them from the primary signal to obtain the corrected EEG data.

Adaptive interference canceler for EEG movement and eye artifacts

A human-computer interface uses neuroelectric signals recorded from the user's scalp i.e. electroencephalograms (EEGs) to alter the program being run by the computer, for example to present less or more difficult material to the user, depending on the user's neurocognitive on-line workload score. Each user is tested with a standard battery of tasks, while wearing an EEG hat, to calibrate a neurocognitive workload function. The calibrated function is user-specific and is obtained by modifying a neural network pattern analyzer which has been previously trained to index neurocognitive workload using data from a group of subjects performing the same battery of tasks.

Neurocognitive adaptive computer interface method and system based on

An injector system to inject a bolus of electrolyte into EEG electrodes includes a pressure pump containing electrolyte and a pen-like injector which is filled from the pump for the injection of a bolus for each EEG electrode. The injector includes a finger-operated plunger having a piston, an electrolyte chamber, a hollow shaft portion of the plunger, and a flexible bottom portion having flaps which are spread open by the injector head (end of the plunger).

Electrode electrolyte application device

In an electroencephalographic (EEG) system and method the subject's brain waves are recorded using electrodes removably connected to the scalp. The spatial resolution may be improved, in one embodiment, by 'Deblurring', based on digital computer processing measurements of the positions of the electrodes; measurements of the subject's head size, shape, scalp thickness, skull thickness and brain shape; and estimates of the conductivity of the skull, scalp and cerebral spinal fluid.

EEG spatial enhancement method and system

A testing method and system for testing the mental performance capability of a human subject includes a digital computer workstation which presents a test to the subject, such as visumotor memory task. Simultaneously, a physiological sensing and amplification device amplifies and analyzes the subject's brain waves, eye activity, scalp and facial muscle activity, heart activity, respiration and/or skin conductance. The subject's test scores and physiological activity are compared, by the workstation, with previously collected normative measurements for that subject to determine if the test was passed with a passing score and, if so, whether the subject, in order to pass the test, exceeded a standard based upon the subject's normal mental effort in taking the same or similar tests.

Non-invasive human neurocognitive performance capability testing method

A computer system utilizes a parallel data broadcast architecture, called 'PDB' is adapted to be connected to a host computer system. In one digital embodiment, the PDB system includes an interface and global memory which is connected to the host computer system and to three common buses. The buses, in parallel, are, respectively, a data broadcast bus, an instruction bus and an output bus, each bus being connected to a plurality of computational units. Each computational unit includes an arithmetic processor, which preferably, in this embodiment, is a digital signal processor (a special-purpose integrated circuit microprocessor), a local memory and a local program memory. The computational units receive the input data simultaneously and in parallel; transform the data, depending on the parameters received from the instruction bus; and communicate their results, by multiplexing, to the output bus.

Parallel processing system having a broadcast, result, and instruction

An improved brain wave electroencephalograph (EEG) method measures the physical positions of EEG electrodes applied to the subject's scalp. A set of standard cross-directional lines are obtained to provide measurements of the subject's head and a computer system automatically defines the subject's head shape according to predetermined head shape classes. The position of the electrode on the subject's scalp is then determined by scaling the measurements of the subject's head to a head model of the same head shape class.

EEG spatial placement and enhancement method

In a brain wave detecting system, in one embodiment, a flexible hat is placed on the head of the patient. The hat contains a plurality of electrodes conforming to the hat. A circuit board having a low-noise integrated circuit amplifier may be mounted thereon. Each electrode uses a plurality of metal conductive fingers which protrude through the hair to the scalp and provide multi-contact sites on the scalp for each electrode. The tips of each electrode contact the user's scalp to provide a redundancy of contacts for each electrode.

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Alan S Gevins