Diagnosis of neurological disorders such as epilepsy may soon be improved by the technical advances in dense sensor array magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG). EEG is particularly important to public health policy because it is less expensive (by factor of 10 to 100) than MEG or any hemodynamic (MRI, PET, SPECT) imaging modality. Widespread clinical application of dense sensor array EEG to the diagnosis of neurological disorders may be achieved not only through inferences on source localization, but through maximizing the clinical electroencephalographer's interpretive skills with surface EEG by providing high-resolution waveform and topographic data. With adequate spatial sampling and 3D spline interpolations based on realistic head geometry, the Laplacian of the scalp potential characterized the skull current density of the brain's electrical field. The proposed Phase II research implements the PI's innovations in current density EEG with an adequate spatial sampling of the scalp EEG with EGI's 128-channel Geodesic Sensor Net. With this advance implementation, current density EEG will be come a useful adjunct to conventional EEG and to dipole modeling in the clinical diagnosis and management of neurological disorders.
The inadequate spatial sampling of conventional EEG is becoming increasing clear. Dense array EEG, coupled with the enhanced spatial detail provided by current density measure, may become powerful new tools in the hands of clinical electroencephalographers.
