Conventional disc electrode (CDE) EEG is currently the primary diagnostic tool for various brain, neurological, and psychological disorders. However, it suffers from poor sensitivity/specificity, which is a root cause of misdiagnosis. The market needs a better tool for understanding brain activities. Surface Laplacian EEG increases the spatial resolution by decreasing the blurring effects due to the strong attenuation of the skull. To increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), existing methods primarily rely on signal processing techniques without addressing the limitations of CDEs, which result in suboptimal outcome. The I-Corps team proposes transforming the electrode configuration to improve the SNR of EEG by utilizing a new generation of electrodes, tripolar concentric ring electrodes (TCREs), which perform the Laplacian automatically taking bipolar differences of the potentials from closely spaced electrode elements. TCRE EEG has significantly better spatial selectivity, SNR, localization, and Laplacian estimate than CDE EEG. TCREs are directionally independent to global sources and highly focused on local activity due to their concentric configuration, which sharply attenuates distant signals and artifacts such as eye blinks and ECG. Preliminary clinical data showed that TCRE EEG revealed the patient?s brain activity during epileptic seizures which was not possible with CDE EEG.
TCRE EEG will fill clinical and research needs unmet by CDE EEG. EEG technology is one of the mainstays of hospital diagnostic procedure and pre-surgical planning. With the significant technological improvement provided by the TCRE, EEG will continue to increase in value as a tool to assist doctors in improving the quality of life for a wide variety of patients. The fundamental improvement in EEG technology will advance the diagnosis of and scientific research on various brain diseases and neurological disorders (epilepsy, sleep disorders, stroke, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, etc.) and more effectively guide neurosurgical and other medical procedures. The increased signal fidelity from TCRE may allow detection of biomarkers to quantify neurological disorders (such as autism) with EEG which was not previously possible. Furthermore, TCRE EEG will improve the performance of Brain Computer Interfaces which may provide those persons who cannot use or have limited use of their muscles but are cognitively intact with an alternative for communication and control. Commercially, TCRE EEG may transform the market landscape and setting a new standard for EEG equipment. This I-Corps award has the potential to accelerate the transition of innovation from lab to market.
Conventional disc electrode electroencephalography (EEG), the recording of brain electrical activity found with disc electrodes on the scalp, is currently the primary diagnostic tool for various brain, neurological, and psychological disorders. However, many times the signals are so noisy that a proper diagnosis cannot be made. Doctors and researchers need a better tool for understanding brain activities. The I-Corps team developed a unique electroencephalography brain activity monitoring system based on tripolar concentric ring electrodes transforming electroencephalography from old-style "rabbit ears" technology to the high definition television (HDTV) era. The unique tripolar concentric ring electrodes, a small metal disc with two metal rings around it, developed by the University of Rhode Island I-Corps team is a platform technology with many medical and commercial applications. The tripolar concentric ring electrode electrical brain activity recording system will fill clinical and research needs unmet by current disc electrode electroencephalography. Electroencephalography technology is one of the mainstays of hospital diagnostic procedures and pre-surgical planning. With the significant technological improvement provided by the tripolar concentric ring electrode, EEG will continue to increase in value as a tool to assist doctors in improving the quality of life for a wide variety of patients. We believe that the fundamental improvement provided by the tripolar concentric ring electrode will advance the diagnosis of, and scientific research on, various brain diseases and neurological disorders (epilepsy, sleep disorders, stroke, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, etc.) and more effectively guide neurosurgical and other medical procedures. The increased signal fidelity from the tripolar concentric ring electrode may allow detection of biomarkers to quantify neurological disorders (such as autism) with EEG which was not previously possible. Commercially, the tripolar concentric ring electrode EEG may transform the market landscape and setting a new standard for EEG equipment. This I-Corps award has accelerated the transition of innovation from lab to market.
